Development of Edible Coatings for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables: Possibilities and Limitations

The development of edible coatings to extend the shelf-life of fresh fruits and vegetables has been one of the most important goals of the post harvest industry. Thus, in the last decade, research efforts have resulted in edible coatings based on biodegradable biopolymers (proteins and polysaccharides) that at the same time allow the reutilization of some by-products of the food industry. Generally, these hydrocolloids are used as a support matrix since they show excellent film-forming ability, good mechanical properties and selective permeability to gases. However, due to their poor water vapour barrier properties, they have to be combined with lipid compounds in order to obtain composite edible coatings with the desired functional characteristics. Moreover, edible coatings for fruits and vegetables can be especially designed to incorporate and/or controlled release antioxidants, vitamins, nutraceuticals, prebiotics and antimicrobial agents. This work reviews the composition and main properties of formulations and commercial applications available at present, as well as their main effects on the quality and shelf-life of fruit and vegetables during storage. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________