Design and Development of an Edible Coating for a Ready-to-Eat Fish Product.

The application of chitosan and alginate coatings for a ready-to-eat (RTE) baked fish product was studied. An experimental design was used to investigate the effect of coating a polysaccharide concentration and glycerol addition on the safety (microbial growth) and quality (water loss and lipid oxidation) of an RTE fish product under optimal and abused storage conditions. The results showed that a chitosan coating with 1% (/) chitosan in 1% (/) acetic acid and 15% (/ chitosan) glycerol, or a 1% (/) alginate coating with no glycerol and no crosslinking, showed the best performance in controlling the tested safety and quality parameters.