Chitosan is a sugar obtained from the tough exoskeleton of crustacean creatures such as shellfish, including crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. This chitosan can be used as a banana coating material which can provide many benefits.

At the 49th Editorial Talk event organized by National Geographic Indonesia on Tuesday (7/6/2022), Institut Teknologi Bandung School of Life Sciences and Technology Researcher and Lecturer Fenny Martha Dwivany, S.Si., M.Sc., Ph.D., explained about the development of crustacean shells such as crabs and shrimp into chitosan which is rich in benefits, especially for coating bananas on an industrial scale in Indonesia.

The post-harvest stage is one of the most risky processes and stages for to-be exported agricultural products, including fruit. For example, various types of fruit, including bananas, are often stored poorly after harvest, which in turn causes a decrease in the value of bananas, making them difficult to export. Not only that, freshly harvested bananas also often experience browning even though they have been stored properly and neatly. This is due to the oxygen and ethylene levels contained in bananas.

“Due to that, chitosan can play a major role in preventing the browning of stored bananas. Chitosan is used as a coating or edible coating that can function to inhibit the work of ethylene and oxygen which can accelerate the ripening to browning of bananas," explained Fenny. Chitosan coating on bananas also maintains the sensory quality of bananas.

Through research and experiments that have been carried out, the use of 1.15% chitosan can maintain the sensory quality of bananas to be stronger until the 9th day, compared to bananas without chitosan coating, which will brown on the 5th day. A 1.15% percentage of chitosan coating is most ideal because it still provides space for O2 to enter the banana and circulate in order to remove water vapor as well as CO2. "Inhibition of browning and ripening for a few days will be very helpful for industries that supply and utilize bananas in preventing a decrease in the quality of bananas," said Fenny.

Reporter: Yoel Enrico Meiliano (Food Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Hanna Daniela Ayu (Aerospace Engineering, 2021)