Edible coatings and plasma-activated water: synergistic strategies for extending fresh produce shelf life.

Postharvest losses of fresh fruits and vegetables constitute a global crisis, with 20-30% of products lost in rich countries and up to 55% in developing nations before reaching consumers. Although traditional chemical sanitizers and refrigeration are prevalent, the increasing demand for residue-free, clean-label preservation is stimulating interest in non-thermal options. This research critically assesses the combined use of edible coatings (ECs) and plasma-activated water (PAW) as complementary hurdle technologies for postharvest preservation of fresh foods. We contend that the sequential PAW-then-EC strategy, where PAW delivers immediate, broad-spectrum RONS-mediated microbial reduction (2-4 log CFU/g), followed by EC, creating a continuous physical and bioactive barrier, overcomes the limitations of each technology individually, in a manner no single treatment can replicate. Significant findings across several commodities (strawberries, tomatoes, apples, grapes) indicate that combination treatments prolong marketable shelf life by 40-100% compared to untreated controls, diminish enzymatic browning by inhibiting PPO and POD, and preserve firmness, color, and nutritional integrity. This study highlights significant research gaps, including the instability of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in lipid-rich coating matrices, the need to optimize process parameters for specific commodities, and the lack of internationally standardized methodologies for characterizing plasma-activated water (PAW). We determine that the commercial translation of EC-PAW systems necessitates scale-up engineering, lifecycle evaluation frameworks, and synchronized regulatory collaboration across principal markets.