Determination of the Effects of Silver Nano-Particle Packaging Materials on Storability of Tomatoes

Abstract

The need to extend the shelf-life of tomatoes has arisen due to the issue of post-harvest losses. This has prompted an exploration into active packaging materials. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of silver nanoparticle packaging material on tomatoes. Freshly cleaned tomatoes were stored at room temperature using two types of packaging materials, namely Styrofoam and High-Density Plastic (HDP). These packaging materials were then either covered with nylon film infused with silver nanoparticles or with regular nylon film. The tomatoes were left in storage for a period of 9 days, during which changes in fruit mass, moisture content, firmness and the number of damaged tomatoes were carefully assessed. After 9 days, the weight of tomatoes infused with nanoparticles was 142g to 96g compared to the normal condition of 150g to 40g for HDP and 166g to 86g compared to the normal condition of 114g to 64g for Styrofoam. Overall, the results of the study demonstrated that post-harvest preservation of tomatoes using the investigated techniques of Silver Nanoparticle under two packaging materials extended days of firmness, and reduced mold concentrations count by 50% thereby reducing the number of losses by 65-70%. The results obtained provided highly useful information in the field of post-harvest storage and preservation.