Red Globe grapes (Vitis vinifera) are widely consumed for their taste and bioactive compounds but are highly perishable during post-harvest handling. This study evaluated the effectiveness of an edible coating formulated from cheese whey fermented by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in maintaining grape quality during storage. Five treatments were applied: Control (no coating), non-fermented coating (NF), and fermented coatings containing 105 CFU/mL (F1), 107 CFU/mL (F2), and 109 CFU/mL (F3) yeast. Grapes were stored at 25°C for 8 d, and antimicrobial activity, Total Plate Count (TPC), pH, weight loss, hardness, color change, and qualitative changes were assessed. The fermented coating with 107 CFU/mL (F2) outperformed all the treatments. It produced bacterial inhibition zones of 4.98 mm and mold inhibition of 2.85 mm, while maintaining TPC at 20.2 × 108 CFU/g, pH 3.46 ± 0.01, reduced weight loss by 3.38 ± 0.30%, showing a day-8 hardness of 671.18 ± 320.50 g and minimized total color change (ΔE 3.63) after 8 d. Fermentation by S. cerevisiae enhanced the coating’s antimicrobial and barrier properties, helping delay spoilage. These findings indicate that integrating fermentation into edible-coating technology can improve fruit preservation and extend shelf life without compromising quality.
Abdurodjak et al. (Tue,) studied this question.