REVIEW article
Front. Food Sci. Technol.
Sec. Food Packaging and Preservation
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frfst.2025.1641117
Emerging trends in biopolymer edible coatings for enhancing the shelf life of neglected and underutilized crops
Provisionally accepted
- 1The University of the West Indies St. Augustine, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
- 2Universidad de los Andes Facultad de Ingenieria, Bogotá, Colombia
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Neglected and underutilized species (NUS) are nutrient-dense crops, offering high concentrations of essential nutrients relative to their calorie content. These crops are increasingly explored for their potential to meet global consumption demands while promoting ecosystem biodiversity sustainably. However, their commercialization has been limited by short shelf life and significant postharvest losses. One promising solution is the use of biopolymer edible coatings as an alternative to plastic packaging, which could extend the shelf life of these crops. This review examines research conducted over the past decade on preserving underutilized crops with biopolymer coatings and suggests potential directions for future studies. It covers the sources of biopolymer coatings, their benefits and drawbacks, application methods, and strategies to overcome challenges associated with different biopolymers. While various coating formulations have shown promising results, the commercialization of these coatings for underutilized crops remains limited. The review also identifies key research gaps that must be addressed to bridge this gap.
Keywords: Edible coating, neglected and underutilized species, postharvest, biopolymer, fruits and vegetables
Received: 05 Jun 2025; Accepted: 30 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mathura, MAHARAJ and Ratkovich. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: ROHANIE MAHARAJ, The University of the West Indies St. Augustine, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.