Emerging Trends and Advancements in the Biopreservation of Fruits

Fruits are natural, healthy, economically feasible, ready to eat, and provide essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, making them a fascinating food. Deterioration of fruits during transportation can cause food security concerns and financial losses. Globally, about 45% of horticultural crops are spoiled and wasted for numerous reasons, such as environmental contamination during growth, harvesting under unsuitable conditions, and improper storage, handling, and display. There are three groups of factors affecting the spoilage of food: physical, chemical, and microbial, which damage the size, color, taste, and texture of fruits. Conventional methods of preserving food products comprise chemical preservation, freezing, drying, and pasteurization, which can result in the loss of nutrients and the addition of unwanted chemicals produced during processing. Therefore, “green” technology is required to preserve fresh produce, which protects and enhances nutritional value in equal measure. This review will present emerging trends and advancements in the biopreservation of fruits, such as lactic acid bacteria, essential oils, herbal extracts, nanoparticles, microcapsules, edible films and coatings, bacteriocins, and bacteriophages. These biopreservative techniques should be easy, inexpensive, eco-friendly, and generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the World Health Organization (WHO).