Background: Strawberries are highly perishable fruits characterized by rapid moisture loss, softening, and fungal decay, severely limiting their postharvest shelf life. Edible coatings offer a sustainable alternative to synthetic fungicides and modified atmosphere packaging.

Objective: This study evaluates the effect of different concentrations of chitosan-based edible coatings on the physicochemical quality and shelf life of fresh strawberries during cold storage.

Method: This study uses a simulated dataset created for academic training purposes. Strawberries were simulated to be treated with 0% (control), 1%, and 2% chitosan coatings and stored at 4°C for 12 days. Weight loss, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), and decay incidence were measured at 3-day intervals. A two-way ANOVA was conducted using SPSS.

Key Results: The 2% chitosan coating significantly reduced weight loss by 42% and decay incidence by 55% at day 12 compared to the control. Furthermore, the 2% coating maintained higher fruit firmness (3.8 N) compared to the uncoated control (1.9 N).