Current status of the use of edible coatings in fruit and vegetables

The substantial increase in vegetable product losses are due to improper practices at the time of harvest and those derived from the conditioning and subsequent treatments that impact significantly on its quality characteristics. These also affect the profitability of a sector that is called to strengthen the feeding of humanity, arousing great concern among supply chains, to define strategies to minimize impacts and strengthen competitiveness in increasingly demanding markets. Researchers have been concerned about the development of friendly environmental techniques that allow the use of natural materials such as polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and the mixture of these compounds. These are applied as edible coatings on fruits and vegetables. This process controls the growth of pathogenic organisms and deteriorative action of external agents. These agents cause defects in ripening. The goal is to prolong their lifespan by reducing the transfer of gases and water vapor and offer fresh looking products, with high nutritional quality, free of pathogens.