12. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL SCIENCE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT
EFFECTIVE PRACTICES AND STORAGE PERFORMANCE IN THE PRESERVATION OF SOME MINIMALLY PROCESSED VEGETABLE TYPES
Changes in living conditions and lifestyles have increased the demand for ready-to-eat foods with high quality in food consumption. Due to people's demand for ready-to-eat and natural products and changes in lifestyles, consumers are looking for food products that are less processed but have a longer shelf life and retain their nutritional and sensory properties during storage. These requirements pose many challenges when it comes to minimally processed food products that are perishable, such as fruit and vegetables. Therefore, in recent years, edible coatings have been intensively developed and studied for their capacity to improve the quality, shelf life, safety and functionality of processed products. Furthermore, some functional ingredients can be incorporated into an edible matrix and applied to the surface of foods, thus enhancing safety and even nutritional and sensory qualities. In the case of coated fruits and vegetables, quality parameters that are very specific to the type of products and storage conditions, such as colour, firmness, microbial load, decay rate, weight loss, sensory properties and nutritional parameters, should be carefully monitored.