Abstract:
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an edible crop produced in Ghana for both the local and export markets. The perishable nature of the fruit results in huge postharvest losses. The use of edible coatings to preserve commodities is inexpensive, easy to apply, requires less labour, technology and improves fruit qualities. However usage of this technology has raised some concerns with major stakeholders of the fruits and vegetables industry regarding health, safety, availability and cost. The study therefore sought to assess the knowledge and perceptions of fruit and vegetable consumers and retailers regarding wax and waxed produce, the effect of different locally available wax materials on the physico-chemical and organoleptic quality attributes of cucumber fruits as well as their acceptability by consumers. To achieve this, structured questionnaires were administered to fruit and vegetable consumers and retailers in Accra. Experiments were also conducted using coconut oil (CO), shea butter (SB), coconut oil-shea butter combination (COSB) and synthetic wax (SW) against a control to assess the effect on various cucumber quality indices. The study revealed that all respondents were unaware of edible coating as a preservation method. However majority were willing to utilise this technology although they raised some concerns regarding health and safety. CO, SB and COSB maintained cucumber fruit quality (pH, titratable acidity, total soluble sugars, weight loss and extended shelf life). Consumers preferred SB and COSB over the other treatments. Although all respondents were ignorant of edible coatings as a preservation method, targeted education and advertisements by relevant institutions can convince the majority of willing respondents to wax usage and hence create a commercial product.
