ABSTRACT
The demand for new compounds for the production of edible coatings, mainly in fruits, has been increasing in a great way because they are materials that have enormous potential to prolong the useful life of handling sensitive foods that have critical conservation, especially in microbiological control during storage. The various materials used in the manufacture of food packaging provide physical protection as well as the essential physicochemical conditions for the maintenance of food quality. Despite the vast abundance of Cerrado species, few studies have applied the potential for the manufacture of food packaging. Besides food industry, which is the industry of choice for economically and environmentally-sustainable Cerrado exploration, the investigation of new and improved technological applications of biopolymers and substances found in plants from Cerrado is growing. The search for less hydrophilic and resistant biopolymers has inspired the investigation of babassu as a source of new carbohydrate polymers.
