**4. Edible films and coatings for fruit preservation**

Fruits are acknowledged as the main sources of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre in the diet of consumers. At a similar time, their short shelf life is well known, due to their high percentage of moisture content (75–95%), which is one of the major causes of their fast degradation. Many types of nanocomposite films and edible coatings are used nowadays very much on fresh fruits and vegetables for increasing their shelf life using the same methods as modified atmosphere methods, which have already shown good results for preserving fruits and vegetable quality [23]. Total soluble solids content (°Brix) is a very important maturity index for fruit and vegetables. Edible coatings are


#### **Table 1.**

*Inorganic nano materials.*

also very operative in lowering TSS, or we can say in lowering the ripening rates of fruit and vegetable products [24]. Edible coatings and films (ECF) are employed as matrixes for including antimicrobial nanoparticles (NPs), and then they are used on fruits and vegetables to increase their shelf life and enhance quality in storage. The preservation ability of the quality of fruits and vegetables indicates that many ECFs with NPs could be used as the ideal materials for food application. Looking at the introduction to these characteristics, an attempt is made to look out for future trends in this field [25].
