Zeitschrift für Lebensmittel : Mikrobiologie, Sicherheit und Hygiene
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Fruits and Vegetables with a Coating that is Edible: A Review

Roukia Hammoudi, Alia Telli, Kernou Ourdia Nouara, Patricia Rijo, Zahra Azzouz

From FAO data, around 1.3 billion tons of food is lost each year, which represent a 1/3 of the total amount of food manufactured worldwide. The highest rates of food waste are seen in European and North American nations. These losses per person in the European Union total about 170 kilograms per year. Besides economic losses, food waste has also led to wasted energy and water as well as increased domestic gas emission [1-3]. The spoilage by microbial action and oxidation procedures or by consumers is the most cause of food wasted [4-6]. Traditional preservation techniques like salting, heating, or adding chemicals are intended to prevent microbial growth in food, but they usually result in an undesirable loss of its nutritional content. Soft conservation procedures have played an important role in numerous foodstuffs. They are widely utilized instead of heat treatments to maintain the nutritional and sensory properties of food while maintaining product microbiological safety and a longer shelf life [4,7].

Coatings produce a changed environment that surrounds the product, just like the modified storage conditions do. The use of edible coatings on agricultural products, such as fruits and vegetables, has been the subject of extensive research. This modified atmosphere can protect the food from the time of coating application to its final retail destination and the consumer's home [8-10]. Most traditional packing materials are not recyclable or environmentally friendly [4,11,12].

The extending of shelf life and preserving organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of food are the main features sought in the coatings. Newly, edible films and coatings have gained more attention by scientists and food industry to replace conventional coatings [7,13].

The edible film or coating serves a variety of purposes, including limiting the transmission of tastes, fats, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and water vapor; improving the mechanical integrity of the meal; and probably being the transport for food components or additions like antimicrobials or antioxidants [18]. These films are an integral part of the coated product and can be consumed at the same time as the product and therefore must have sensory properties, so as not to be detected during consumption because it can have an impact on the visual appearance (color, smooth appearance, shine, etc.), taste (salty, sugar, etc.), aroma or even texture [19-21].This review will describe various edible coatings and films applied in food.