ABSTRACT
The loss of fresh products worldwide has increased in recent years; microorganism diseases are the main cause of this waste, although other factors such as physiological characteristics and postharvest practices, from the selection to storage of products, are also responsible for losses. The increasing population growth and consumer demand for fresh products of high nutritional quality have led the agroindustry to seek alternatives to improve the production and yield of agricultural crops. Nanotechnology applied in agroindustry can provide a solution to current problems of low yield and nutritional quality in fresh products. The methods used in nanotechnology are based on the use of nanoparticles with antimicrobial action that allows the original characteristics of a product to be maintained with minimal damage to the sensory and nutritional properties. Due to these properties of nanoparticles, they have been implemented in different ways, such as nanocoatings, nanoemulsions, or nanofibers, as pretreatments in highly susceptible fresh products, such as minimally processed products, to protect from physiological and microbiological damage. These defects can occur at any stage of the postharvest process; therefore, it is necessary to emphasize those stages where conservation actions can be improved, such as processing, packaging, and storage. Therefore, the content of this chapter focuses on the use of postharvest applied nanomaterials in fresh and minimally processed products in order to improve their quality and shelf life.
