ABSTRACT

Edible coating can be dened as a thin layer of edible material formed as a coating on a food product and is usually applied by immersing the product in a solution of the coating. This is in contrast to an edible lm, which is a preformed, thin layer of edible material that is placed as a wrapping on the food product (Falguera

7.1 Concept and Types of Edible Coatings ......................................................... 147 7.1.1 Polysaccharides ................................................................................. 148

7.1.1.1 Cellulose ............................................................................ 148 7.1.1.2 Pectin ................................................................................. 149 7.1.1.3 Chitosan ............................................................................. 149 7.1.1.4 Starch ................................................................................. 149 7.1.1.5 Alginate .............................................................................. 150 7.1.1.6 Aloe Gel ............................................................................. 150 7.1.1.7 Gum Arabic........................................................................ 150

7.1.2 Proteins ............................................................................................. 151 7.1.2.1 Whey Protein ..................................................................... 151 7.1.2.2 Gelatine .............................................................................. 151 7.1.2.3 Zein .................................................................................... 151 7.1.2.4 Soy Protein ......................................................................... 152

7.1.3 Lipids ................................................................................................ 152 7.2 Effects of Edible Coatings on Fruit Properties ............................................. 152

7.2.1 Effect on Fruit Physiology ................................................................ 152 7.2.2 Effect on Organoleptic Quality ........................................................ 154 7.2.3 Effect on Fruit Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Activity ........ 158

7.3 Edible Coatings with Natural Antimicrobial Compounds ........................... 158 7.4 Concluding Remarks .................................................................................... 161 References .............................................................................................................. 162

et al., 2011). Food industries and packaging manufacturers have joined in efforts to reduce the amount of food packaging materials, mainly due to environmental and consumer concerns. The development of edible coatings has received much attention in recent years due to advantages such as consumption with the food product, sometimes increasing its organoleptic properties and being produced from agricultural and marine renewable sources, as well as by using several fungal species (ED, 1995, 1998; FDA, 2006; Bourtoom, 2008).