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Three hundred and twenty (320) oranges of Valencia variety were stored under cold conditions in the refrigerator for 8 weeks. The following parameters were carried out during the course of storage: Total soluble solids, titratable acidity, weight loss, firmness, pH, vitamin C and sugar/ acid ratio. The final value for firmness for coated oranges was found to be 1781.25 + 118.30N, while that of uncoated oranges was 1531.25 + 185.53N. The pH was gradually increasing during the course of storage in the two treatments, whereas vitamin C was found to be decreasing in storage. The total soluble solid for coated oranges was 9.79+ 1.14% while that of uncoated oranges was found to be 9.34 + 0.06% at the end of storage. There was a linear decrease in titratable acidity during the course of storage. It was found that the value obtained for coated oranges was higher than that of uncoated oranges which was obtained to be 1.14 + 0.07 at the end of storage. Converse to this was obtained for % weight losses in the two treatments. The weight loss for coated oranges was 29.20+ 0.55%, while that of uncoated oranges was 53.30+ 1.17% at the end of storage. A linear increase was observed in sugar/acid ratio in the two treatments during the course of storage with higher value being recorded for uncoated oranges as 8.90 + 0.87, while lower value was gotten for coated oranges as 7.43+ 0.34%.

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The use of conventional food packaging materials is usually effective in terms of barrier. On the other hand, their non‐biodegradability creates serious environmental problems, motivating researches on edible biopolymer films and coatings to at least partially replace synthetic polymers as food packaging materials. Chitosan is a biopolymer obtained by N‐deacetylation of chitin, which is the second most abundant polysaccharide on nature after cellulose. Chitosan forms clean, tough and flexible films with good oxygen barrier, which may be employed as packaging, particularly as edible films or coatings, enhancing shelf life of a diversity of food products. Chitosan films (CH) were plasticized with two hydrophilic compounds, namely, olive oil (CHOO) and vegetable oil (CHVO). Our objective was to investigate the effect of plasticizers on the quality and storability of oranges with chitosan films. The following parameters were measured: weight loss, ascorbic acid content, pH, and firmness. The stability of the plasticized films was observed by storage for 7weeks at ambient temperature of 25±2oC and relative humidity of 55‐67%. Prior to storage, the orange samples were surface sterilized using 100mg/L sodium hypochlorite. Results showed that chitosan films plasticized with two hydrophilic compounds was effective in extending the shelflife of orange when compared to untreated control in the following order: CHOO>CHVO>CH>Control.