**1. Introduction**

Consumers these days are demanding high-quality fruits and vegetables that are rich in health-promoting compounds and also prefer fresh foods because of their highvalue nutrition. To achieve more beneficial health, moreover, these foods should keep up the good physicochemical and sensory quality, as well as be safe for consumption and should be free from contaminants and pathogenic microorganisms [1]. This growing demand has now challenged the food and horticulture industries to develop relevant preservation practices. This has prompted a sense of urgency for scientists and food processing industries to evaluate different approaches to enhance the

freshness, quality, shelf-life, and food safety, through the use of natural, edible, and biodegradable polymers [2]. These edible coatings and films reduce the loss of quality attributes by forming a semipermeable safety barrier around fruits. Edible films and coatings can consist of 3 types of biological materials: polysaccharides, lipids, and proteins [3]. Many biopolymers such as alginate, carrageenan, chitosan, pectin, starch, and xanthan gum have been widely used to form edible films and food coatings. Their film-forming properties allow the synthesis of membranes (thickness > 30 μm) and coatings (<30 μm), which are successfully used to preserve foodstuffs.

Edible coatings can also be used as a carrying matrix of antimicrobial agents which can increase its functioning by substituting the microbial spoilage and increasing the shelf life of the product [4]. The edible coating idea helps to increase the use of raw and perishable vegetables and fruits and control the horticulture loss of crops. Edible coating base material is made of polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids. In view of Zaragoza et al. [1] edible coating controls the respiration rate, it also controls the extension of microbes during the preservation of fruits and vegetables. Chitosan is to be used in organic-based coating for stopping food spoil and defile. It has a very impressive capacity for heavy metal adsorption. It is used as edible coatings to extend fruit shelf life by reducing transpiration and respiration rates. TiO2 nanoparticles have excellent photocatalytic activity, which is very effective for the removal of organic pollutants. Therefore, the integration of TiO2 and chitosan can complement each other with their own advantages, and the chemical grafting of antioxidant molecules (such as chitosan) directly on the surface of TiO2 nanoparticles has the best effect on the treatment of wastewater pollutants.

Mostly the traditional packaging is derived from petroleum plastics such as polypropylene, polyethylene, and polystyrene, which later after the product utilization becomes a major worry due to environmental damage they cause regarding their difficult degradation. Nevertheless, serious environmental problems are created due to the non-biodegradability of these materials, thus enlarging the attentiveness of researchers in biodegradable packaging production utilizing natural polymers extracted from renewable sources for application in food packaging. In this sense, many researchers have shown interest in coatings and edible films which represent an environmentally friendly alternative for food packaging. Edible packaging is known as a future alternative to protecting food quality and improving shelf life by slowing down microbial spoilage and providing moisture and gas barrier properties. In 2016, the edible packaging market was valued at \$697 million and by the year 2023, it is expected to hit \$1097 million increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CGAR) of 6.81% from 2017 to 2023 on an international level.

Nanotechnology works well for food packaging, and edible coatings made of both inorganic and organic nanoparticles are also possible [5]. Inorganic nanoparticles including silver oxide Np, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, silver and are mostly employed in food packaging as a detector, to prevent foodborne illness, and to lengthen shelf life. In 2006, FDA said that nanomaterials are particles with dimensions less than a micrometre scale that exhibit special properties [6]. In recent years, using edible coatings (ECs) to extend the shelf life of fresh foods has shown to be a successful and environmentally beneficial alternative. An edible coating is a thin layer of food that is applied directly on a food surface and has filmogenic qualities. The inclusion of compounds with antibacterial activity inside the polymeric matrix is one of the most fascinating aspects of coating design. The edible coating's non-toxic anti-fungal ingredients may prevent fungal deterioration, which is the principal cause of postharvest losses of fruit and vegetable goods [7].
