Development of

advanced edible
coatings for fruits
Hyun Jin Park*
Graduate School of Biotechnology, Korea University,
5-Ka, Anam-Dong, Sungbuk-Ku, Seoul 136-701,
South Korea (tel: 82-2-3290-3450; fax: 82-2-927-9028;
e-mail: hjpark@kuccnx.korea.ac.kr)
Edible coatings can provide an additional protective coating
for fresh products and can also give the same eect as
modied atmosphere storage in modifying internal gas
composition. Recently, several edible coatings for preserving
fruits such as oranges, apples, and grapefruits were suc-
cessfully applied. But, in some cases, edible coatings were
not successful. In fact, fruit quality was worse. The success
of edible coatings for fresh products totally depends on the
control of internal gas composition. This article is designed
to help develop a systematic means of selecting edible
coatings to maximize quality and shelf life of fresh fruits and
vegetables. Methods will be introduced to select edible
coatings based on their gas permeation properties relative
to controlling internal gas composition of target products.
#2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Major losses in quality and quantity of fresh fruits
occur between harvest and consumption [1]. Savings
obtained through reduction of postharvest fruit losses is
regarded as ``a hidden harvest'' [2]. Through a better
understanding of the respiration process of fresh fruits,
several techniques have been developed that are suc-
cessful in extending shelf life. Controlled atmosphere
storage and modied atmosphere storage have been
used for preserving fruits by reducing their quality
changes and quantity losses during storage. Edible
coatings on fresh fruit can provide an alternative to
modied atmosphere storage by reducing quality chan-
ges and quantity losses through modication and con-
trol of the internal atmosphere of the individual fruits.
A historical view of edible coatings
Wax was the rst edible coating used on fruits. The
Chinese applied wax coatings to oranges and lemons in
the 12th and 13th centuries [3]. Although the Chinese
did not realize that the full function of edible coatings
was to slow down respiratory gas exchange, they found
that wax-coated fruits could be stored longer than non-
waxed fruits. In the 1930s hot-melt paran waxes
became commercially available as edible coatings of
fresh fruits such as apples and pears. Erbil and Muftugil
[4] reported that coating of peach surfaces with wax
emulsions decreased water vapor and oxygen transmis-
sion, thus diminishing respiration rate and increasing
shelf life of the fruit. Nisperos-Carriedo et al. [5] and
Baldwin et al. [6] observed that oils or waxes and cellu-
lose had similar eects of preventing spoilage and
retaining fresh-picked quality for tropical fruits.
Several attempts have been made to develop other
materials that could be used to coat, produce and mod-
ify internal gas composition for short-term storage. El
Ghaouth et al. [7] and Zhang and Quantick [8] sug-
gested that chitin and chitosan (deacetylated chitin)
from marine invertebrates could be used for making a
transparent lm for application as an edible coating on
fruits and vegetables. In 1982, Lowings and Cutts
reported on an edible coating material that is non-
phytotoxic, tasteless, odorless, and eective in preser-
ving fruits. This coating material is a mixture of sucrose
fatty acid esters (SFAE), sodium carboxymethyl cellu-
lose, and mono- and di-glycerides. SFAE was originally
developed as an emulsier. However, it has been estab-
lished that the ripening of fruits be retarded by a coating
of SFAE. SFAE mixtures have been commercially
available since the 1980s, for coating fruits and vege-
tables, under the trade names `TAL Pro-long' and
`Semperfresh' [915]. Park et al. [16,17] applied zein
coating on the surface of tomatoes and reported that the
lm coating delayed color change, weight loss and
maintained rmness during storage.
Problems associated with edible coatings to be
overcome
Even though some edible coatings have been success-
fully applied to fresh produce, other applications have
0924-2244/00/$ - see front matter Copyright # 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PI I : S0924- 2244( 00) 00003- 0
Trends in Food Science & Technology 10 (1999) 254260
*H.J. Park is also with the Department of Packaging Science,
Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634-0370, USA.
Review
adversely aected quality. Modication of internal
atmospheres by the use of edible coatings can increase
disorders associated with high carbon dioxide or low
oxygen concentration [18]. Smock [19] indicated that
waxing apples and pears inhibited normal ripening rate
and if sucient wax was applied respiration was greatly
inhibited and alcoholic avors were developed by anae-
robic fermentation. Smith and Stow [11] reported that
apples (cv. Cox's Orange Pippin) coated with sucrose
fatty acid ester did have reduced detrimental changes in
terms of fruit rmness, yellowing and weight loss, but
also had increased core ush incidence. Park et al. [17]
reported that tomatoes coated with 2.6 mm zein lm
produced alcohol and o-avors internally which were
attributable to an internal gas composition too low in
oxygen and too high in carbon dioxide. Smith et al. [20]
summarized the eects on physiological disorders asso-
ciated with modication of internal atmosphere by use
of coatings, as core ush, esh breakdown, and accu-
mulation of ethanol and alcoholic o-avors.
Wax and SFAE mixtures are the most widely used
edible coatings for fruits and vegetables. But, they are
not equally eective on all produce. Another problem is
that consumers tend to be wary of waxy coatings.
Therefore, development of alternate edible coatings that
do not impart a waxy taste are desirable. The eects of
edible coatings on internal gas composition and their
interactions on quality parameters must be determined
for coated fresh produce. For example, color change
and rmness are very important quality parameters in
fruits. As Shewfelt et al. [21] stated, color change,
rmness loss, ethanol fermentation, decay ratio and
weight loss of edible lm coated fruits are all important
quality parameters for some products. Success of edible
coatings for fruits depends mainly on selecting lms or
coatings that can give a desirable internal gas composi-
tion that is appropriate for a specic product. Also, if a
coating is too thick detrimental eects can result due to
an internal oxygen concentration below a desirable and
benecial level and an associated increased carbon
dioxide concentration above a critical tolerable level.
Such a condition leads to anaerobic fermentation. This
is to accomplished by: (a) developing several edible
coatings, (b) measuring gas permeation properties of
selected coatings, (c) measuring diusion properties of
skin and esh of selected fruits, (d) predicting internal
gas compositions for the fruits coated with edible lms,
and (e) observing coating eects on the quality changes
of fruits.
Gas permeation properties of edible coatings
There are several possible edible coatings for fruits,
such as cellulose, casein, zein, soy protein, and chitosan.
These were chosen since they have the desirable char-
acteristics of generally being odorless, tasteless and
transparent. It is not easy to measure the gas permea-
tion properties of the coatings after being placed on
fruits. Therefore, separate at lms need to be prepared
and tested. Two primary known methods of preparation
of at lm were described by Kamper and Fennema [22]
and Aydt et al. [23]. An OX-TRAN 1000
TM
(Mocon
Modern Control, Inc., Minneapolis, MN) is usually
used to measure oxygen permeability, and WVP was
measured using a variation of the ASTM Standard
Method E 96 (ASTM, 1987), known as the ``cup
method''. CO
2
permeability can be measured using a
modied permeability cell designed by Gilbert and
Pegaz [24] . Gas and water vapor permeabilities of the
coatings can be calculated as shown in Box 1.
Oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor perme-
abilities of edible coatings reported in the literature are
presented in Table 1 and compared with other conven-
tional plastic lms. The oxygen permeabilities of most
edible coatings was lower than the conventional plastic
lms [2932]. Oxygen permeability (OP) of SPE coat-
ings is 13 times higher than those of polyethylene lm
and is 410 times higher than those of polypropylene
lm. OP of SPE coatings are similar to cellulose lm
values but are higher than those of protein edible coat-
Box 1. Gas permeability
The permeation can be described mathematically by
Fick's rst law. The ux (J) which is proportional to the
concentration gradient can be dened in one direction as
follows:
1 DdCadX 1
Where, J is the ux, the net amount of solute that dif-
fuses through unit area per unit time (g/m
2
.
s or ml/m
2
.
s),
D is the diusivity constant (m
2
/s), C is the concentration
gradient of the diusing substance and X is the thickness
of the lm (m) [2528].
With the two assumptions, (1) the diusion is in steady
state and (2) there is a linear gradient through the lm,
the ux (J) is given by
1 DC
2
C
1
aX QaAl 2
Where, Q is the amount of gas diusing through the
lm (g or ml), A is area of the lm (m
2
) and t is the time
(s). After application of Henry's law, the driving force is
expressed in terms of partial pressure dierential of gas
and a rearrangement of terms yields the following equa-
tion in terms of permeability.
QaAl DS2 1aX PLaX 3
Where, S is the Henry's law solubility coecient (mole/
atm), Lp is partial pressure dierence of the gas across the
lm (Pa) and P is the permeability ((ml or g) m/m
2
.
s
.
Pa).
Then, the permeabilities of O
2
, CO
2
and H
2
O vapor
can be calculated from the following equation [2528];
P QXaAlL 4
H.J. Park / Trends in Food Science & Technology 10 (1999) 254260 255
ings such as zein. CO
2
/O
2
permeability ratios of edible
coating lms are higher than those of plastic lms. The
permeability ratios of protein lms are lower than those
of cellulose lms. SPE coatings present very high water
vapor barriers compared with other edible coatings [30].
Water vapor permeability (WVP) of SPE coatings is
lower than that of polyethylene lm and more than 100
times lower than the values for cellulose and protein
lms. These high oxygen and water vapor barrier prop-
erties will make SPE coatings desirable for fresh pro-
duce as a replacement for wax. WVP of other edible
coating lms are much higher than those of plastic lms
[33]. WVP of wheat protein lm was 0.6030.630 ng
.
m/
m
2
.
s
.
Pa, which was the highest among all edible lms
tested [34]. Plastic is the most widely used food wrap,
but water vapor commonly condenses on the inner sur-
face of plastic packaging materials thus leading to
potential microbial contamination in fresh produce [35].
Thus, a lm with greater WVP is desirable, although an
extremely high water vapor permeability of a lm is also
not desirable as it can result in excessive moisture loss of
fruits during storage.
Diusivity determination on fruit skin and esh
Knowledge of diusivities of gases in bulky plant
organs is essential in understanding the physiological
changes, gas exchanges and internal gas composition.
The internal gas composition of fruits is determined by
the diusivities of skin, esh and stem [3638]. Burg and
Burg [36] designed a system to determine gas resistance
factors that can be used to estimate gas diusivities of
bulky plant organs as the ratio of internal concentration
to the ratio of the production of carbon dioxide and
ethylene at steady state. Diusivities of gases in bulky
plant tissue can be calculated as shown in Box 2.
Several reports exist on determining the diusivities of
the bulky plant organs [3641]. Burg and Burg [36]
dened a resistance factor (R) which could be estimated
for bulky plant organs, banana and tomato, as the ratio
of internal concentration to the ratio of production of
carbon dioxide and ethylene at steady state. They esti-
mated that more than 60% of gas exchange takes place
through the stem scar in tomatoes. But this resistance
factor is only an empirical value without conventional
dimensions, and is not constant with changes in the
surface to volume ratio. Cameron and Yang [37] mea-
sured the eux of a metabolic inert gas, ethane which, is
neither produced nor metabolized to a signicant degree
by the tissue. It was shown that over 97% of gas
exchange of tomato fruits occurs through the stem scar.
But the measurement of ethane eux introduces several
uncertainties because they did not measure the diusiv-
ities of exocarp, pericarp and stem scar separately.
Solomos [40] , in a review of principles of gas exchange
in bulky plant organs, considered stationary states for
carbon dioxide diusion through spherical and cylind-
rical shaped plant organs and determined diusivities of
esh and skin of apple with the peeled and intact fruit.
But the eect of the stem for gas transfer was not con-
sidered in determining the apparent diusivities of
apple. The wax undoubtedly serves as a gas barrier to
oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor and other
metabolic gases and also provides protective functions
(for example, mechanical damage, fungal and insect
attack). Therefore, it can be assumed that the primary
factor that regulates the internal concentration of gases
is the skin in bulky plant organs. In apple, the resistance
of apple skin to gas diusion was 10 to 20 fold greater
than that of the esh, depending on the cultivar [40, 41].
Chinnan and Park [38] constructed a diusion cell from
Table 1. O
2
, CO
2
and H
2
O vapor permeabilities of edible coatings
Permeability
Film
a
O
2
b
CO
2
b
H
2
O Vapor
c
SPE 2.100.0001 0.000420.04
Chitosan 0.0014 0.49
Zein 0.360.16 2.671.09 0.1160.019
Wheat gluten 0.200.09 2.131.43 0.6160.013
MC (L) 2.170.45 69.019.33 0.0920.003
HPC (L) 3.570.03 143.93.76 0.1100.004
HPC/Lipid 3.440.06 81.74.58 0.0820.003
Cozeen 0.89 5.2526.10 0.407
PE 8.30 26.1
PP 0.550.005 0.000650.06
PVC 0.0917.99 1.3526.98 0.00071
PET 0.130.30 0.671.12
a
SPE is Sucrose Polyester; (L) refers to low level of plasticizer; MC is Methyl cellulose; HPC is Hydroxypropyl cellulose; PE is Polyethylene;
PP is Polypropylene; PVC is Polyvinyl chloride; PET is Polyester [22,29,3133]
b
Unit of permeability is in
.
m/m
2
.
s
.
Pa; f is the abbreveation for femto (10
15
)
c
Unit of permeability is ng
.
m/m
2
.
s
.
Pa; n is the abbreviation for nano (10
9
)
256 H.J. Park / Trends in Food Science & Technology 10 (1999) 254260
Plexiglass
TM
and an apparatus for diusivity measure-
ment as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Gas diusivities of
exocarp plus pericarp, pericarp and stem scar increased
as the tomatoes developed from green stage to red stage.
During the ripening process the progressive loss of
rmness is the result of a gradual transformation of
protopectin into pectin which is degraded by enzyme,
polygalacturonase, in the cell wall [42]. This enzymatic
degradation of pectin is probably attributed to greater
diusion of gases in the bulky organs of fruits.
Measurement of internal gas composition
A cylindrical plug of tissue can be removed from
individual fruits (orange, apple, tomato, cantaloupe,
water melon, and pineapple) using a rubber stopper
corer. A glass tube can be sealed around the hole in the
surface of the produce sample. In order to measure
internal gas composition, gas in the glass tube can be
allowed to equilibrate with internal gases [16,17,43].
Then a gas sample can be taken from the glass tube with
a syringe injected through the sealing stopper. By
immersing both the produce sample and the attached
glass tube in water, atmospheric contamination at the
point of syringe insertion can be prevented. Gas samples
can be analysed by gas chromatography. Required
equilibrium times (when gas composition of the inside
of the glass tube is constant) need to be determined by
periodically monitoring gas changes inside the glass
tube. Equilibrium time can be expected to vary with
variety, ripeness, temperature and harvesting season for
various fruits but, two hours is usually enough time [44].
Prediction of internal gas composition
Using gas permeation data of edible coatings, diu-
sivity data of skin and esh of the fruits, and the math-
ematical models, internal gas composition can be
predicted for selected fruits. Predictions of internal gas
compositions with and without coatings will enable
better matches to be made between individual fruits and
individual edible coatings. The mathematical model
could be veried by comparing predicted and measured
internal gas composition for various coating materials
and thickness on selected fruits.
Gas diusion models will be determined according to
physical shape and composition of individual fruits. For
example, if one dimensional steady state diusion with a
constant diusion coecient is assumed, the gas diu-
sion model for a hollow sphere can be used to predict
internal oxygen composition of some fruits such as
apples and cantaloupes as follow: In one dimensional
diusion with a constant diusion coecient, the rate of
gas transfer in the sphere is [2527,40]:
dCadl Dd
2
Cadi
2
2aidCadl 1
On substituting u=Cr in the equation (1), we have:
du/dt=D(d
2
C/dr
2
). At steady state, the dierential
equation of this case is:
oi
2
oCaoiaoi 0 2
In a hollow sphere where, a i L, if gas con-
centrations are kept constant at the surfaces such that they
are C
1
at i a, and C
2
at i L, then C aC
1
L i
Box 2. Diusivity calculation
Gas exchange in bulky plant tissue can be approxi-
mated by Fick's rst law. The ux of a gas of Fick's law is
dependent on gradient of concentration and diusivities
of plant organs. But to determine the gradient of gases,
Fick's second law can be employed [2528,40,41]. If dif-
fusion is one dimensional and the diusion coecient is
constant, the rate of transfer through unit area becomes:
dCadl DdCadX 1
At non-steady state, all the solutions can be obtained
either by the method of separation of variables and
Fourier series or by the Laplace transformation.
If surface concentrations are constant, the following
boundary and initial conditions may apply:
C C
1
Y x 0Y l ! 0
C 0Y x IY l ! 0
C 0Y 0 ` x ` IY l 0
The solution in the form of a trigonometrical series is:
CxY l C
1
1 xaI
2ap

I
n1
C
1
an sinnxaIexDn
2
p
2
laI
2
2
As t approaches innity the terms involving the
expoential vanish and we simply have the linear con-
centration distribution. The rate at which the gas emerges
from unit area of the face x=L of the test sample is given
by DdCadX
xI
, which is easily deduced from equa-
tion (2). By integrating them with respect to t, we obtain
the total amount of diusing substance Q
t
which has
passed through the membrane in time t as follows:
Q
l
aIC
1
DlaI
2
1a6 2p

I
n1
1exDn
2
p
2
laI
2
3
As t approaches innity, equation (3) approaches the
line:
Q
l
DC
1
aIl I
2
a6D 4
This has a intercept L on the t-axis given by:
I
l
I
2
a6D 5
The intercept L
t
is referred to as the `time lag'. Thus,
the measured values of concentration of the diusion
constant from the linear portion of the plot [38,39].
H.J. Park / Trends in Food Science & Technology 10 (1999) 254260 257
LC
2
i aaiL a. By integrating with respect to time
t over the surface area, the total amount of diusing gas
Q
t
passing through the wall can be determined by:
Q
l
4pD
a
aLC
2
C
1
aL a 3
Where: D
app
is apparent diusivity of the hollow
sphere and a and b are constants for individual fruits
[2527,40].
However, at steady state the ux of oxygen passing
through the spherical fruit wall should equal the rate of
gas consumption, thus:
Q
l
4pD
a
aLC
2
C
1
aL a RO
2
W 4
where: R(O
2
) is respiration rate of oxygen per fruit and
W is weight of the fruit.
Internal oxygen composition, C
1
, can be predicted
using equation (4). Correlation factors will be calculated
from actual measurement of internal gas composition.
Also, predicted internal gas composition of edible lm
coated fruits will be veried by measuring internal gas
composition [40,41,45]. Also optimum edible coating
thickness can be calculated for each produce-coating
combination as shown in Box 3.
Fig. 2. Apparatus for diusivity measurement: (1) diusion cell, (2) water bath, (3) ask, (4) mineral oil, (5) test gas inlet, (6) nitrogen inlet, (7)
three-way valve, (8) three-way connector, (9) two-way valve, (10) sampling chamber, (11) silicone septum, (12) gas owmeter, (13) brass tub-
ing. Diusivity measurement can be done by the following procedures in [38]. Each of the cored and sliced sample prepared for the study
can be placed in the diusion cell, and a pre-mixed gas (9.9% O
2
, 10.1% CO
2
, 80.0%, N
2
) can be introduced to the supplying chamber. The
amount of CO
2
and O
2
diused through the sample in time t into the sampling chamber can be measured by gas chromatography. The
sampling interval is 5 min, and the total sampling period is 2 hr. The diusion cell is immersed in a water bath maintained at 21

C. All
equipment for determining gas diusivities are placed in a heat-insulated chamber, and the temperatures at several places inside the
chamber monitored.
Fig. 1. Diusion cell: (1) sample holder, (2) gas chamber, (3) sample, (4) sample retainers, (5) threaded bush, (6) sealing O-ring, (7) tubing
adapters, (8) thumb nuts, (9) thread rods. The diusion cell was constructed from Plexiglass
TM
for determining diusivities [38,39]. The cell is
composed of three main parts: the sample holder, supplying chamber and sampling chamber. The face of each part be tooled for an O-ring
which provides a tight connection.
258 H.J. Park / Trends in Food Science & Technology 10 (1999) 254260
Measurement of quality and shelf life change
Quality criteria for edible lm coated fruits must be
determined carefully, and the quality parameters must
be monitored throughout the storage period. For
example, color change and rmness are very important
quality parameters in some fruits. Color change, rm-
ness loss, ethanol fermentation, decay ratio and weight
loss of edible lm coated fruits need to be monitored
[21]. Color change can be monitored by the change in
hue angle. An Instron universal test machine can be
used to measure rmness with a non-destructive method
[45]. Sensory evaluation and consumer acceptability
tests need to be examined during storage.
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Box 3. Optimal thickness for edible coating
The hollow sphere model can be used also to determine
the edible coating optimal thickness in some fruits, such
as apple and cantaloupe. In the edible lm coated apple
and cantaloupe, the ux of oxygen passing through the
spherical fruit wall from the center to the interface of the
lm coating and the fruit surface should equal the ux of
oxygen passing throguh the edible coating from the
interface of the lm coating and the fruit surface to the
atmosphere, and should equal the rate of oxygen con-
sumption of the edible lm coated apple and cantaloupe
at steady state [40,41,45].
Ql 4pD
a
aLC
2
C
1
aL a
4pD
cz
C
2
C
x
aXL
2
R
c
O
2
W 1
Where: R
c
(O
2
) is the oxygen consumption rate of
coated fruits, D
cz
is the diusivity of edible coatings and
X is the thickness of the edible coating. C
x
is oxygen
concentration at the surface between the edible coating
and the surface fruits.
Optimal coating thickness which will create a desirable
range of internal oxygen concentrations (C
1
) in apples,
(i.e., 23%), and cantaloupe, (35%) will be calculated
from the following equation:
X 4pD
cz
C
2
C
x
L
2
aR
c
O
2
W 2
Where b+X becomes b when X is very small. C
x
is
determined from equation (1) with C
2
=C
x
.
H.J. Park / Trends in Food Science & Technology 10 (1999) 254260 259
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260 H.J. Park / Trends in Food Science & Technology 10 (1999) 254260