Kinetics of colour and texture changes of button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) coated with chitosan during storage at...

Kinetics of color and texture changes in coated button mushrooms were investigated as a function of coating agent's rate (1%, 2% and 3% w/v chitosan). The inner and outer surface colours of mushrooms in terms of CIELAB parameters L*, a*, b*, C*, ° h, ∆E, and Browning Index (BI), and their textural properties in terms of firmness were evaluated. The color values on both sides of the mushrooms except for L* values increased and their firmness decreased with the coating treatment. The color changes of the inner and outer surface of mushrooms and their texture changes followed zero-order reaction models with higher R2 (0.9987-0.9999) and lower RMSE (4.8448 x 10-5-1.6690) and χ2 values (3.9120 x 10-9-4.6425). The 2% chitosan solution was determined to be the most effective coating agent among the coating agents used to extend the post-harvest shelf life by optimally preserving the color parameters of the mushrooms together with their texture properties.