Researchers publish a review about edible coatings for stone fruits, indicating future research direction should focus on technological readiness level of edible coatings application

Stone fruit, including peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots and cherries, are popular worldwide as a result of their high nutritional value and desirable taste. However, stone fruit are susceptible to various postharvest quality problems including high weight loss, decay, over ripeness and susceptibility to physiological disorders such as internal breakdown and chilling injury symptoms. In the quest to improve fruit storability and shelf life of stone fruit, a lot of research has focused on the postharvest application of edible coatings. However, these coatings have varied effects on the external and internal quality attributes of fruit and the effects are dependent on types of stone fruit. This review, therefore, discusses the different edible coatings applied to enhance storage of stone fruit, with a focus on coating formulation, properties and mode of action specific to stone fruit. Furthermore, gaps in the literature and future prospects of edible coating application on stone fruit are identified. Highlights- Recent developments on application of edible coatings of stone fruit are discussed.- Addition of lipids to polysaccharide-based coatings increased coating moisture barrier properties.- Stone fruit responded well to the application of edible coatings.- Although there are various edible coatings, research has largely focused on lab-scale trials.- Future research direction should focus on technological readiness level of edible coatings application.Contents1. Introduction2. Ripening in stone fruit ? an overview3. Edible coatings - an overview4. Active ingredients in edible coatings for stone fruit application: forms and functions5. Effect of edible coatings on physiological responses of stone fruit6. Effect of edible coatings on physico-chemical qualities of stone fruit7. Effect of edible coatings on phytochemical and antioxidant contents of stone fruit8. Effect of edible coatings on physiological disorders and decay in stone fruit9. Conclusions and future prospects SourcesRecent developments on postharvest application of edible coatings on stone fruit: A reviewShannon Claudia Riva (a), Umezuruike Obia Opara (a, b) & Olaniyi Amos Fawole (b, c)aPostharvest Technology Research Laboratory, South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology, Department of Food Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch 7602, South AfricabPostharvest Technology Research Laboratory, South African Research Chair in Postharvest Technology, Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Stellenbosch 7602, South AfricacDepartment of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South AfricaScientia Horticulturae, Volume 262, 27 February 2020, 109074https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.109074https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304423819309604Picture, Agricoat Natureseal, commercial product,?Semperfresh, special post-harvest coatings for whole fruit?