Biopolymer based edible coating for enhancing the shelf life of horticulture products

Revolutionizing tropical fruits preservation: Emerging edible coating technologies

Tropical fruits, predominantly cultivated in Southeast Asia, are esteemed for their nutritional richness, distinctive taste, aroma, and visual appeal when consumed fresh. However, postharvest challenges have led to substantial global wastage, nearly 50 %. The advent of edible biopolymeric nanoparticles presents a novel solution to preserve the fruits' overall freshness. These nanoparticles, being edible, readily available, biodegradable, antimicrobial, antioxidant, Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS), and non-toxic, are commonly prepared via ionic gelation owing to the method's physical crosslinking, simplicity, and affordability. The resulting biopolymeric nanoparticles, with or without additives, can be employed in basic formulations or as composite blends with other materials. This study aims to review the capabilities of biopolymeric nanoparticles in enhancing the physical and sensory aspects of tropical fruits, inhibiting microbial growth, and prolonging shelf life. Material selection for formulation is crucial, considering coating materials, the fruit's epidermal properties, internal and external factors. A variety of application techniques are covered such as spraying, and layer-by-layer among others, including their advantages, and disadvantages. Finally, the study addresses safety measures, legislation, current challenges, and industrial perspectives concerning fruit edible coating films.

Edible Coatings as a Natural Packaging System to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Shelf Life and Quality

In the past years, consumers have increased their interest in buying healthier food products, rejecting those products with more additives and giving preference to the fresh ones. Moreover, the current environmental situation has made society more aware of the importance of reducing the production of plastic and food waste. In this way and considering the food industry's need to reduce food spoilage along the food chain, edible coatings have been considered eco-friendly food packaging that can replace traditional plastic packaging, providing an improvement in the product's shelf life. Edible coatings are thin layers applied straight onto the food material's surface that are made of biopolymers that usually incorporate other elements, such as nanoparticles or essential oils, to improve their physicochemical properties. These materials must provide a barrier that can prevent the passage of water vapor and other gasses, microbial growth, moisture loss, and oxidation so shelf life can be extended. The aim of this review was to compile the current data available to give a global vision of the formulation process and the different ways to improve the characteristics of the coats applied to both fruits and vegetables. In this way, the suitability of compounds in by-products produced in the food industry chain were also considered for edible coating production.

Mechanical and Surface Properties of Edible Coatings Elaborated with Nanoliposomes Encapsulating Grape Seed Tannins and Polysaccharides

Edible composite coatings (ECC) formulated from biopolymers that incorporate antioxidant molecules represent an innovative alternative to improve food texture and provide health benefits. Tannins have aroused great interest due to their ability to stabilize suspensions and counteract the effects of free radicals. The mechanical and surface properties are crucial to establishing its quality and applicability. In this study, the objective was to analyze the mechanical and surface properties of ECC made with nanoliposomes that encapsulate grape seed tannins (TLS) and polysaccharides such as hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) and kappa carrageenan (KCG) for their future direct application in foods susceptible to oxidation. The inclusion of HPMC or KCG affected the density, showing values in the range of 1010 to 1050 [kg/m3], evidencing significant changes (p < 0.05) in the surface tension in the TLS/FS-HPMC and TLS/FS mixtures. KCG and in the dispersion coefficients, with values in the range of -2.9 to -17.6 [mN/m] in HPS (S1) and -17.6 to -40.9 [mN/m] in PDMS (S2). The TLS/FS-HPMC coating showed higher stiffness and elastic recovery capacity than the TLS/FS-KCG coating, suggesting that the presence of TLS influenced the stiffness of the polymer. HPMC is recommended as a suitable polymer for coating solids, while KCG is more appropriate for suspensions. These findings provide valuable information for directly applying these ECC compounds to food products, potentially offering better preservation and health benefits.

Combining Blue Light and Yellow Curcumin to Obtain a "Green" Tool for Berry Preservation against Bacterial Contamination: A Preliminary Investigation

Background: According to recent studies, tens of millions of tons of fruit are wasted each year in Europe in primary production and home/service consumption. Among fruits, berries are most critical because they have a shorter shelf life and a softer, more delicate, and often edible skin. Curcumin is a natural polyphenolic compound extracted from the spice turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) which exhibits antioxidant, photophysical, and antimicrobial properties that can be further enhanced by photodynamic inactivation of pathogens when irradiated with blue or ultraviolet light. Materials and methods: Multiple experiments were performed in which berry samples were sprayed with a complex of β-cyclodextrin containing 0.5 or 1 mg/mL of curcumin. Photodynamic inactivation was induced by irradiation with blue LED light. Antimicrobial effectiveness was assessed with microbiological assays. The expected effects of oxidation, curcumin solution deterioration, and alteration of the volatile compounds were investigated as well. Results: The treatment with photoactivated curcumin solutions reduced the bacterial load (3.1 vs. 2.5 colony forming units/mL (UFC/ml) in the control and treated groups; p-value = 0.01), without altering the fruit organoleptic and antioxidant properties. Conclusions: The explored method is a promising approach to extend berries' shelf life in an easy and green way. However, further investigations of the preservation and general properties of treated berries are still needed.

Value Addition Employing Waste Bio-Materials in Environmental Remedies and Food Sector

Overall, combating food waste necessitates a multifaceted approach that includes education, infrastructure, and policy change. By working together to implement these strategies, we can help reduce the negative impacts of food waste and create a more sustainable and equitable food system. The sustained supply of nutrient-rich agrifood commodities is seriously threatened by inefficiencies caused by agricultural losses, which must be addressed. As per the statistical data given by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, nearly 33.33% of the food that is produced for utilization is wasted and frittered away on a global level, which can be estimated as a loss of 1.3 billion metric tons per annum, which includes 30% cereals, 20% dairy products 35% seafood and fish, 45% fruits and vegetables, and 20% of meat. This review summarizes the various types of waste originating from various segments of the food industry, such as fruits and vegetables, dairy, marine, and brewery, also focusing on their potential for developing commercially available value-added products such as bioplastics, bio-fertilizers, food additives, antioxidants, antibiotics, biochar, organic acids, and enzymes. The paramount highlights include food waste valorization, which is a sustainable yet profitable alternative to waste management, and harnessing Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence technology to minimize food waste. Detail of sustainability and feasibility of food waste-derived metabolic chemical compounds, along with the market outlook and recycling of food wastes, have been elucidated in this review.

Hydrocolloid edible coatings extend shelf life, reduce postharvest decay, and maintain keeping quality of mango fruits (Mangifera indica L.) under ambient storage

Mango fruit exhibit high postharvest losses due to physiological, biochemical, and pathological deterioration during storage. Edible coatings such as hydrocolloids (HC) bear promising potential for fruit quality preservation at ambient storage due to its triple action (physiological, biochemical and pathological) on fruit and thus widely researched in recent years. This study demonstrates the influence of health and eco-safe hydrocolloid edible coatings such as "Carboxymethyl cellulose" (CMC) (1%), "Guar gum" (1.5%), "Gum Arabica" (10%), and "Xanthan gum" (0.3%) as dip treatment to enhance the postharvest quality and storage life of mangoes at ambient storage (25 ± 4°C and 65 ± 5% RH). "Xanthan gum" (0.3%) treatment exhibited the highest efficacy in reducing the decay loss by more than threefold and physiological loss by twofold over control fruit. It lowered the physiological and fruit softening enzyme activities (PG, PME, and LOX), while maintaining the biochemicals. Moreover, it maintained both internal as well as external (consumer preference) quality of fruit and extended 6 days shelf life on the physiological loss standard basis (≤10%) than that of the control. The results recommend the application of "Xanthan gum" (0.3%) as an efficacious ecological, sustainable, and health-friendly surface edible coating for quality preservation and storage period extension of mango fruit under ambient storage. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The selected hydrocolloid edible coatings dip treatment showed promising potential in controlling the physiological, biochemical, and pathological deterioration of mango fruit stored under ambient condition. The selected treatments extended the shelf life without diminishing fruit quality. However, among the attempted HC treatments, the "Xanthan gum" (0.3%) (XG) coating displayed the excellent results. It added the storage life of mango fruit by 6 days over the control. XG treated fruit displayed the excellent results in terms of storage period extension, quality retention, consumer preference, and control over the fruit decay and softening enzymes activities. Postharvest preservation of mango fruit using HC is nonchemical, cost-effective approach which is GRAS (generally recognized as safe), health, and eco safe.