Food coating instead of packaging

Scientists developed edible coating for food such as fruits and vegetables, meat and cheese. This not only helps to avoid packaging waste – some of the products also have a significantly longer shelf life.

For example, Spanish scientists have coated cherries with alginate obtained from brown algae. The result: the fruits lasted twelve instead of eight days. The reason for this is that edible coating acts as a physical barrier, explains Huertas Maria Diaz-Multa of the Spanish National Research Council, who led the study. As a result, oxygen, water vapor and carbon dioxide have a harder time of entering and escaping the fruit.

Prolongs shelf life and keeps germs away

And this is only an example. Tugce Senturk Parreidt from the Chair of Food Packaging Technology at the Technical University of Munich has analysed research in this field worldwide and comes to the conclusion that edible coatings can be used economically to increase the shelf life of fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood and cheese. With the latter, the primary aim is to keep away germs such as salmonella.

Already approved in the USA

Industrial applications of food coating are already on the market. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FRDA) has approved a process developed by Apeel Sciences where food is sprayed with fat-containing substances similar to the ones found in tomatoes and grapes.

Less food waste

The long-term goal of the processes is clear: treated food does not need plastic or paper packaging. And because it has a longer shelf life, it does not end up in the garbage as quickly. This reduces the amount of discarded food, especially in industrialized countries.

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