Bio-based coating for an extended strawberry shelf-life

Strawberry fruits are very perishable and display a natural quick deterioration even in excellent conditions. Starch based edible films and coatings may be introduced as an innovative way to preserve and pack such food products for extended shelf-life. These are composed of biopolymers such as underutilised by-products from food industry and polyols, forming a biodegradable, edible composite which contain bioactive components in their composition. Thus, a new study was conducted with an aim to characterise loquat seed starch based bioactive films and apply them to strawberry fruits to study the protective effect of bioactive films and coatings during storage.

Enhanced storage period

Glycerol loquat film (GLF) and sorbitol loquat film (SLF) had their thickness, opacity solubility, water vapor permeability (WVP), morphological properties and antioxidant activity profile assessed, while the coated strawberries were characterized in terms of visual aspect, firmness, weight loss, pH, Total Soluble Solids and Total Titratable Acidity during 16 days. Results showed that the edible coating designed with sorbitol provided a better physicochemical property, solubility and WVP behavior when compared to the GLF sample. On the other hand, the GLF were capable to maintain the antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds profiles. The application of the coating enhanced the storage period of the strawberry by 6 days maintaining their characteristics through the prevention of weight loss, delaying the microbial growth, and pigment oxidation.

The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 175, February 2023.