Microbiological analyses. As shown in Table 3,immediately after the coating was applied, the level of microorganisms was reduced (P < 0.05). Compared to the control and the fruit treated with antimicrobials, the coatings were effective barriers against microbial contamination, as reported previously (Mali and Grossmann 2003; Atress and others 2010; Tamer and C¸opur 2010).