Fabrication of carboxymethyl chitosan/oxidized carboxymethyl cellulose composite film and its assessment for coating preservation of strawberry

In the current study, a novel chitosan-based composite, carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCHS)/oxidized carboxymethyl cellulose (OCMC) was fabricated and characterized. The composite film (CMCHS 1.5%w/v + OCMC 0.8%w/v) was more uniform and had better tensile properties, UV blocking, water vapor permeability, and antifungal properties than pure CMCHS film. Preservation experiments showed that the CMCHS/OCMC film was more efficient for retaining the quality decrease of strawberry during storage. By the end of 7 days' storage, the hardness, contents of organic acid, soluble solids, and reducing sugar of coated strawberries were increased by 35.1%, 38.5%, 14.1%, and 3.5%, respectively, compared to the control group; and the decay rate of strawberries in CMCHS/OCMC group also dropped to 36%, about 42% decrease than that in control, suggesting the promising application of CMCHS/OCMC composite in coating preservation.