Innovations in the Development and Application of Edible Coatings for Fresh and Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables

TLDR

The fresh and minimally processed fruit and vegetable market is expanding, driving demand for strategies that extend shelf life and improve microbial safety, with edible coatings from renewable lipids, polysaccharides, and proteins emerging as promising solutions. This review aims to examine the rationale for using edible coatings on fresh produce, identify challenges in meeting specific fruit and vegetable criteria, and outline recent advances, analytical methods, and future research directions. The authors discuss recent technological developments in coating formulation, the application of analytical techniques to assess barrier and functional properties, and the integration of these methods to support commercial adoption.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: One of the major growth segments in the food retail industry is fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. This new market trend has thus increased the demands to the food industry for seeking new strategies to increase storability and shelf life and to enhance microbial safety of fresh produce. The technology of edible coatings has been considered as one of the potential approaches for meeting this demand. Edible coatings from renewable sources, including lipids, polysaccharides, and proteins, can function as barriers to water vapor, gases, and other solutes and also as carriers of many functional ingredients, such as antimicrobial and antioxidant agents, thus enhancing quality and extending shelf life of fresh and minimally processed fruits and vegetables. This review discusses the rationale of using edible coatings on fresh and minimally processed produce, the challenges in developing effective coatings that meet the specific criteria of fruits and vegetables, the recent advances in the development of coating technology, the analytical techniques for measuring some important coating functionalities, and future research needs for supporting a broad range of commercial applications.