New Delhi: Indian scientists have developed a protective coating for fruits and vegetables in a significant step towards combating food wastage.
He said that a team from IIT, Guwahati has developed a biodegradable and edible coating through a simple dip-coating technique, which will extend the shelf life of perishable products.
The coating has been tested on vegetables like potato, tomato, green chilli, Khasi mandarin, apple and strawberry. The researchers said that this method would not introduce any significant cost in post-harvest processing.
The team was led by Professor Vimal Katiyar, Department of Chemical Engineering and Center for Excellence in Sustainable Polymers (CoE-SusPol) and Professor Vaibhav V. Gaur, Department of Chemical Engineering and CoE-SusPol, IIT Guwahati.
The results of their research have been published in Royal Society of Chemistry Advances — The article shows the effect of coating on tomatoes — and Food Science and Technology of the American Chemical SocietyWhere the authors talk about the general efficacy of the coating.
Katiyar said in a media release: “According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 4.6 to 15.9% of fruits and vegetables go waste post-harvest, partly due to poor storage conditions. In fact, post-harvest losses in some products such as potatoes, onions and tomatoes can be as high as 19%, resulting in higher prices for this highly consumed commodity.
The coating is made primarily from microscopic algae extracts, the researchers said, adding that it can be coated directly onto a vegetable or even turned into vegetable storage pouches.
To make coverings, waste de-oils green algae biomass or . A crude algae ethanolic extract was obtained from Dunaliella teriolecta, It was sourced from Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), India.
These algae are usually found in brackish environments and can be easily grown. Known for its antioxidant properties, it was used to make food films.
This is the first study on the development of an active edible food-packaging material with Dunaliella teriolecta Green algae extract biomass, the researchers said.
They combined the extract with chitosan, a carbohydrate derived from the deacetylation of chitin, found in crustaceans and insects, which has antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Previously, chitosan had limited use in food packaging due to its poor barrier and mechanical properties.
The biosafety of these coatings was proven to be non-toxic and, therefore, suitable for food packaging. Katiyar said in the press note, “The pastes can be mass-produced and can be consumed safely as they do not have any adverse properties. They maintain the texture, colour, form, taste, nutritional value of foods. keep, and extend their shelf life to several weeks or months.”
During the experiments, the edible films demonstrated that the film had antioxidant properties (inhibiting reaction with gases such as oxygen) that long protected the fruit from naturally occurring cell damage. In addition, the films also demonstrated mechanical strength, and stability to light, heat and temperature up to 40 °C, water-vapor barrier and UV-vis light-barrier properties.
Its biosafety was tested by treating BHK-21 cells, a standard protocol for testing toxicity and biocompatibility where cells are obtained from the kidneys of baby hamsters and for analyzing the toxicity of various materials. is used to. Tests showed that the coatings were completely non-toxic.
Professor Katiyar told ThePrint, “Investigators have also started field trials with farmers to see if the products can be used on a larger scale.”
He further added: “An IIT Guwahati based start-up ‘Biojagat Private Limited’ is also working on commercialization of the developed formulation. However, it still needs to be leveraged further for other companies.”
The professor, who has been working on the project for the past six years, also said: “The components are biopolymers that we use in our daily lives. The coating is also affordable as we use very less amount of polymers in it. ,
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