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Introduction
The increased consumer demand for high quality, extended shelf life, convenience foods, ready to eat foods, ready to cook foods initiated the development of several innovative techniques to keep their natural and fresh appearance as long as possible and at the same time render them safe. This is mainly because of busy lifestyles, an increase in health consciousness and increased purchasing power of the consumer (Olivas et al., 2005). Also the consumption of fresh produce is largely recommended all over the world nowadays because of health concerns. One of those innovative technique is edible coatings and films concepts which offers a potential solution. Considerable loss in both quality and quantity of fresh fruits occurs between harvest and consumption. Minimally processed foods are highly nutritious but highly perishable. Removing the skin from the surface or altering the size leads to leakage of nutrients, accelerated enzymatic reactions, rapid microbial growth, color change, texture change and weight losses, resulting in deteriorated quality of the product ( Corbo et al., 2010). Traditional ways to preserve these products include low temperature storage, use of chemical additives, and more often, controlled atmosphere (CA) and modified atmosphere (MA) storage. But each has advantages and disadvantages, with later the predominating (Martn-Belloso & Soliva-Fortuny, 2011). The maintenance of the quality of fresh produce is still a major challenge for the food industry. Packaging has been an important element in these preservation concepts for providing the appropriate (mechanical and functional) protection to the commodity. Since synthetic packaging materials contribute to the environmental pollution, edible coatings and packages have been proposed to replace or complement conventional packaging. Edible packages are non-pollutant products because they consist of natural and biodegradable agriculture products. Edible coatings have many advantages over other techniques, but only when the coated produces are stored at proper temperatures, which depends on the commodity. They can act as moisture and gas barriers, control microbial growth, preserve the color, texture of the product, and can extend the shelf life of the product (Elizabeth A. Baldwin, 2012).

2 These coatings have their disadvantages too. But these can be avoided by adding food grade additives to change their composition and improve properties of coatings or films, which when applied on produce improve its quality. Thus, they offer a good alternative / supplement to conventional packaging materials, especially in terms of increasing the shelf life of food and reducing the long term environmental pollution (Debeaufort et al., 1998).

Research Hypothesis
Researches have proved that Fresh cut fruits and vegetables deteriorate faster than their intact counterpart, mainly due to the damage caused to cells and tissues by cutting and trimming and to the removal of their natural protective skin (Watada and Qi, 1999). When fruits are cut, peeled or in any other way wounded, their tissue responds with a steep rise in respiration rate, causing accelerated consumption of sugars, lipids, and organic acids, and increasing ethylene production, which induces ripening and causes senescence (Kays, 1991). The shelf life and quality of Fresh cut fruits and vegetables is further reduced by a series of decay processes also triggered by physical damage, including enzymatic browning, loss of texture, water loss, increased susceptibility to microbial spoilage, and production of undesirable odours and flavours. Several techniques that have been used to minimize deleterious effects of minimal processing are refrigeration, controlled atmosphere packaging, modified atmosphere packaging, and chemical preservatives (Baldwin et al., 1996; Zhang and Quantick, 1997; Ahmad and Khan, 1987). Among them Controlled atmosphere & low temperature is best in extending shelf life of several whole fruits and vegetables but cannot be used with Fresh cut products because of the short handling period. It is widely reported that edible coatings offer excellent prospects for extending the shelf life of fresh-cut produce by reducing the deleterious effects caused by minimal processing operations. Edible coatings from polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids can serve as barriers to moisture migration, prevent diffusion of gases and control microbial growth (Olivas et al., 2005). There are a few reports in literature that prove that edible coatings can also enhance quality and appearance of fresh produce during storage by preventing flavour and aroma migration and by

3 providing structural integrity (Guilbert et al., 1996). Edible coatings have also been studied as potential carriers of active ingredients such as antioxidants, antimicrobials, colouring agents, vitamins, probiotics, and nutraceuticals. Peda is a popular and delicious Indian confectionary, usually prepared in thick, semi-soft pieces. The main ingredients are khoa, sugar and traditional flavorings, including cardamom seeds, pistachio nuts and saffron, characterized by caramelized colour and highly cooked flavour, is expected to have good shelf life in comparison with other khoa-based sweets due to low moisture content, higher amount of sugar and severe heat treatment applied during its preparation. However, peda is also very much susceptible to microbial spoilage due to unhygienic conditions adopted during its manufacture and handling and its poor packaging(Londhe et al., 2012). If not stored properly it becomes dry which leads to cracks and unacceptable to consumer. Hence, with a view to improve the shelf life of peda with edible coatings without use of any chemical preservatives. The proposed work hypothesizes the use of potential edible coating formulations to increase the shelf life of fresh cut fruits and vegetables. Further these fresh cut fruits can be converted into partially dehydrated (Intermediate moisture foods) form using osmodehydration rendering them more stable then their fresh cut counterpart and later edible coating is applied onto them which further increase their shelf life. Secondly, this work also hypothesize the use of potential edible coating formulations to increase the shelf life of Indian popular confectionary (peda).

Aims and Objectives

To study the effects of various coating formulations for the preservation of fresh cut fruits & vegetables and selected processed food systems. a) Selection of a suitable range of formulations for preparing composite coating based on water vapor permeability & gas barrier characteristics as reported. b) Optimization of coating formulations by studying the effects of the different concentration of the components on the overall quality, taste and appearance of the selected food systems (Fresh cut fruits and vegetables & processed food systems).The

4 thickness of the coating, viscosity of the solution, and the drying properties of the coating formulations can also be considered. c) Evaluation of effect of optimized composite coating formulations on food system (Fresh cut fruits and vegetables) quality based on water loss, firmness, respiration rate, microbiological, physio-chemical properties and sensory for extending the shelf life of fresh cut fruits and vegetables . d) Evaluation of effect of optimized composite coating formulations on selected processed food systems based on microbiological, moisture loss and sensory for extending the shelf life of food systems. e) To study the kinetics of associated quality changes of both fresh cut fruits & vegetables and processed food systems during storage.

Materials and Methods

Materials Fresh fruits & vegetables (commercially ripeness) will be procured from
supermarket and peda. Sodium hypochlorite, calcium lactate, sucrose etc. Coating raw material (protein/ polysaccharide), plasticizer, lipid and carrier (antioxidant/anti browning agent) will be of food grade. Preparation of the coating forming solutions and dipping solution :- Film forming solutions will be prepared by dissolving coating base material in distilled water and heating while stirring until the solution became clear. Then plasticizer is added to the solution and coating forming solutions would be emulsified with lipid then cross linker and additives are added to the final solution. After that viscosities are checked by viscometer. Fruit and vegetable processing and coating :- Fruits and vegetables at commercial ripeness will be sanitized in a sodium hypochlorite(NaClO) solution for 2 min, rinsed with tap water, and dried prior to cutting operations. The Fruits and vegetables sliced and cut to obtain trapezoidal sections, and then coating is applied on pieces by dipping technique. Coated pieces and non coated pieces will be placed in polypropylene trays at 4 C for storage of approximately 15 days and samples will be withdrawn every alternate day for analysis.

5 Fresh cut fruit will be osmodehydrated in 40 Bx to 50 Bx sucrose solution containing 0.5% calcium lactate and dried and coating is applied as above and stored at 4 C. Preparation of peda & coating :- peda will be prepared in traditional way and dipped in coating solution and dried. Coated and non coated samples are packed in polypropylene bags and stored at room temperature for 15 days. Samples will be withdrawn every alternate day for analysis.

Analysis methods Weight loss, firmness and respiration rate measurements will be
evaluated. Weight loss will be determined by comparing the weights of coated pieces after storage with initial weights and expressing the results as percentage Firmness of coated pieces will be evaluated with texture analyzer Respiration rate will be determined by O2/CO2 analyzer Color - surface color will be checked by colorimeter
pH, titrable acidity, total soluble solids and sensory analysis will also be done to

check overall acceptability of coated food systems. Microbiological analysis will be done by plating the sample homogenate onto agar plate and check for Total plate count (TPC), yeast & mould counts.

Expected Results/Outcomes
Development of edible coating for increasing the shelf life of fresh cut fruits and vegetables Development of edible coating for increasing the shelf life of intermediate food system(IMF)

It is anticipated that the shelf life of IMF would be better using a combined approach of osmodehydration and edible coating.
Development of edible coating for increasing the shelf life of popular Indian confectionary. It would be a safe approach rather than using chemical preservatives