Active Edible Polysaccharide-Based Coating for Preservation of Fresh Figs (Ficus carica L.)
1
Department of Science and Technologies (DST), University of Sannio, 82100 Benevento, Italy
2
Institute of Food Science (ISA), National Research Council (CNR), Via Roma 64, 83100 Avellino, Italy
3
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), National Research Council (CNR), Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Napoli, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Foods 2020, 9(12), 1793; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9121793
Received: 30 September 2020
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Revised: 21 November 2020
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Accepted: 30 November 2020
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Published: 3 December 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Effect of Novel Packaging Technology on Food Safety and Quality)
Fresh figs are very sensitive to microbial spoilage, even in cold storage conditions. Thus, fresh figs are high perishable products during postharvest with microbiological decay that induces an unpleasant taste and smell due to rot, and suitable conservation methods must therefore be applied. The fruit usually is consumed fresh locally, dried, or preserved longer term in other transformed forms. A sustainable approach to extend the shelf-life of figs can be constituted by application of an edible coating able to maintain the quality of the fruit during storage. A comparison between fresh figs in a commercial preservation system, with the figs preserved in an edible coating, and an active edible coating to preserve their quality characteristics was carried out. The coating efficacy was enhanced with the addition of pomegranate peel extract at two different concentrations. The inclusion of a component with high antioxidant activity in an edible coating proved to be an excellent method for preserving the quality of this highly perishable fruit. The application of natural products, obtained from renewable sources, represents a simple and economic strategy, but also a tool capable of preserving the quality of the fruit during the postharvest storage, which is often consumed in production areas due to shelf-life problems.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Paolucci, M.; Di Stasio, M.; Sorrentino, A.; La Cara, F.; Volpe, M.G. Active Edible Polysaccharide-Based Coating for Preservation of Fresh Figs (Ficus carica L.). Foods 2020, 9, 1793. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9121793
AMA Style
Paolucci M, Di Stasio M, Sorrentino A, La Cara F, Volpe MG. Active Edible Polysaccharide-Based Coating for Preservation of Fresh Figs (Ficus carica L.). Foods. 2020; 9(12):1793. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9121793
Chicago/Turabian StylePaolucci, Marina, Michele Di Stasio, Alida Sorrentino, Francesco La Cara, and Maria G. Volpe. 2020. "Active Edible Polysaccharide-Based Coating for Preservation of Fresh Figs (Ficus carica L.)" Foods 9, no. 12: 1793. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9121793
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