Abstract:The use of natamycin and agar in the preparation of antifungal food wraps was investigated by studying the effects of humidity on the mechanical properties, the permeability of the antifungal wraps, and the freshness preservation performance of the wraps for freshly cut Hami melon. Increasing the natamycin content resulted in an increase in the antibacterial diameter against Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae from 0~ 28 mm. Under relative humidities of 20%, 50%, and 90% and an increasing natamycin content (P<0.05, the oxygen permeability coefficient of the antifungal wrap varied significantly, and a natamycin content of 0.66 % was associated with tensile strengths of 24.20, 17.05, and 5.73 MPa at different humidities. Freshness preservation was evaluated by packaging freshly cut Hami melon in the prepared antifungal wraps, with results showing colony counts of 9.26 lg CFU/g and 9.12 lg CFU/g for fruit stored over 14 d and 72 h at 4 ℃ and 20 ℃, respectively, which were significantly lower than those obtained for other experimental groups. The wraps were also observed to decrease the reduction rate of soluble solid contents and improve fruit firmness, with reasonable antifungal function and the ability to prolong the shelf life of freshly cut Hami melon.
