Functional Coatings in Postharvest Fruit and Vegetables
A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Coatings for Food Technology and System".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 July 2024 | Viewed by 1388
Special Issue Editors
Interests: post-harvest; fruit and vegetables; ripening; maturation; food quality; antioxidant; packaging; refrigeration; modified atmosphere packaging; edible coating; elicitor; aloe gel
Interests: post-harvest technologies to maintain fruit quality (edible coating); physiology of maturation and senescence of fruit and vegetables; characterization and quantification of phytochemical in plant tissues
Interests: fruit and vegetables; aloe gel; antioxidants; post-harvest; ripening; storage; quality; food safety; crop production
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, edible coatings have become a highly relevant area of research in post-harvest. Safe alternatives have been developed using natural polymers and new active materials. Edible coatings have transitioned from being a means of protecting food from external biotic and abiotic agents to playing a more significant role in interacting with fruits and vegetables. They control the metabolic processes of ripening and senescence, thereby better preserving their quality and shelf life, reducing food waste, and being more environmentally friendly and safe.
It is currently understood that the polymeric matrix of the coating itself or the compounds included, such as polyphenols, essential oils, peptides, nanoparticles, etc., interact with whole fruit, vegetables and fresh cuts, controlling physiological processes, the appearance of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, helping to improve the organoleptic, nutritional, and functional properties. Encapsulation techniques or nanoemulsions have allowed these active materials to be incorporated into the polymeric matrices for more efficient and prolonged effects.
This Special Issue, "Functional Coatings in Postharvest Fruit and Vegetables", provides a great opportunity to gather the latest advances (original research and critical reviews) on edible coatings and the incorporation of functional compounds as potential applications in the post-harvest process.
The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Effects of coatings on the metabolism of fruit and vegetable ripening, and senescence.
- Interaction of functional edible coatings with microorganisms, causing decay in fruits and vegetables.
- Control of pathogenic microorganisms causing diseases from vegetable consumption.
- Analysis of the physical properties of functional edible coatings. Plant–coating–atmosphere compatibility and interaction.
- Control of physiological disorders (chilling injuries) in fruits and vegetables.
- Preservation of the organoleptic and nutritional quality of vegetables.
- Enhancement of functional properties in vegetables beneficial to health.
- In vitro and in vivo studies of functional active materials as possible ingredients in edible coatings.
- Use of plant extracts as functional ingredients in edible coatings.
- Techniques for applying edible coatings on fruits and vegetables.
- Studies on the encapsulation and nanoemulsions of active materials.
Prof. Dr. Domingo Martínez-Romero
Dr. Huertas María Díaz-Mula
Prof. Dr. Juan Miguel Valverde
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- shelf-life
- eco-friendly
- quality food
- safety
- antimicrobial
- functional coatings
- biopolymers
- encapsulation
- postharvest
