"All that glitters is not gold" can be falsified by maintaining freshness and longer shelf-life of fruits like kinnow, a delicious citrus, juicy fruit rich in vitamin C, iron and phosphorus. It is mainly grown in Northern states of India like Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttararanchal. It occupies an area of 45101 ha producing 324208 MT with productivity 7.18 MT/ha.

External appearance is an important attribute of overall fruit and vegetable quality. It is the first attribute that buyers notice. Waxing is normally recommended in fruits like citrus and apples to improve their cosmetic features (shine, colour). Other benefits obtained by the fruit from waxing are less moisture loss and shriveling, reduced post harvest decay and longer shelf-life

A simple, eco-friendly, cost effective lac-based formulation was developed by the Indian Institute of Natural Resins and Gums (IINRG), Namkum, Ranchi and the application of which on the fruit has come as a great respite for kinnow growers, processors and exporters across the country to reduce post harvest losses during storage and transportation.

Lac is a natural resin having FDA clearance for use in edible foodstuffs. This formulation was prepared by dissolving Dewaxed decolourised lac (DDL) in solubilizing agent. Other additives used in the formulation were spreading and breathing agents. A breathing agent is reported to create a network-like structure, and help the fruit/vegetable to breath, otherwise, a continuous layer would effectively check all gaseous exchange and quickly bring about decomposition, rather than extending storage life of the coated produce.

Coated kinnow fruits were packed in commercial CFB boxes and transported from Abohar and SriGanganagar region to Delhi fruit market. All kinnow traders felt that its application produced better results in respect of gloss, spread area and firmness to the fruits as compared to commercial wax. Kinnow traders at Delhi fruit market were contacted for obtaining feedback regarding its application and performance , which was applied on kinnow fruit at Abohar, they expressed their satisfaction and liked the glossy appearance of fruit coated with lac-based formulation.

The new technology has many numbers of advantages over commercially available formulations

•  Its application produced better results in respect of gloss, spread area and provide firmness to the fruits

• Natural and non-toxic; composition of lac -based formulation is well Specified

• No fungicide addition is required in lac- based formulation because lac present in the formulation has got inherent property of being antifungal in nature

• Formulation does not stick to the conveyer belt of waxing plant and Therefore does not require its regular cleaning.

• Unlike commercial formulations, lac-based formulation is operator's friendly, which means it, doesn't produce any obnoxious smell during operation of waxing plant

• Spread area is better than the available commercial formulation (two tons of fruit can be coated by using only one litre of formulation)

• Since it is a water based emulsion hence it can be used in pilot plant combining washing and wax treatment in one operation