Edible coatings for food applications: UAF working on research project for development

University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) is working on research project for the development and optimisation of edible coatings for food applications with objective to improve the quality and shelf life of whole and minimally processed fruits.
The National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFSAT), UAF Professor Dr Masood Sadiq Butt and his team are engaged in the Higher Education Commission (HEC) sponsored research project.
In the said project, fresh fruits like apple, mango, strawberry, melon and apricot will be subjected to an array of edible coating treatments primarily with the aim to improve the nutritional attributes and extend the shelf life of fresh horticultural produce. Moreover, this project will be an attempt to serve the farmer community to reap more profit from their crop by the export of fruits that in other case would go waste due to their perishable nature and vulnerability towards environmental extremes.
The essence of this research project is to reduce as far as possible the losses in the fresh commodities thereby facilitating the stakeholders related to fruit business and ultimately farmers and consumers will be the beneficiaries. The findings of instant investigation will encourage growers, processors and exporters to divert towards the novel technique of edible coating to extend the shelf life of fruits which in turn help generate foreign exchange by their export.
Over the last few years, efforts have been focused largely on improving the eating quality of foods with extended shelf life. Of the various treatments that encircled the theme, edible coating is broader in its impact as successfully communicates the desired objectives with the minimum of quality defects. It involves application of edible/food grade coating materials on the fruit surface primarily with the sole objective of reducing evaporation and transpiration, thereby acting as a shield to protect from foreign invasions thus leading to extension in shelf life.