The minimally processed vegetable (MPV) market has been growing in recent decades. This growth is related to the change in lifestyle and eating habits of consumers who seek practical and healthy food for consumption. Maintaining the characteristics and quality of MPVs is a significant challenge for producers and traders. Minimal processing steps increase the perishability of these MPVs, thus increasing oxidative reactions and their metabolic rate. The research focused on the development of technologies that reduce these reactions gained prominence. Edible films and coatings produced from natural sources have emerged as alternative packaging for food applications and have received attention due to their advantages, such as their biodegradable and renewable nature, availability, and cost. The use of edible coatings for the preservation of vegetables in the postharvest condition, whether intact or minimally processed, has been identified as an emerging technology of great potential as they can control the internal atmosphere of MPVs. Biopolymers such as polysaccharides, lipids, and proteins have been evaluated in the formulation of these coatings. The choice of appropriate material will depend on the characteristics of the plant, the biopolymer, and the intended objectives of the film. This review aims to present some application examples, the main types of edible coatings, and the application techniques used in MPVs based on the literature, to assist a choice that can generate greater coating efficiency.

Food safety and extended shelf life linked to convenience were the major reasons for the development of the packaging field. However, advances in material science and the widespread encapsulation technologies are allowing the establishment of new concepts for packages, such as intelligent and active packages. Particulate systems have been developed in recent years for the most diverse area with several purposes that can be employed to improve packaging performance mainly focusing on the modification of barrier properties. This review analyzes the recent developments using encapsulation in food packaging and the main concepts about mass transfer evolved in the functionality of these packages, as well as discusses the research challenges faced by the food packaging sector.

Growing demand for safe foods coupled with the intent to reduce food waste, seeing as much of it is lost through contamination by spoilage microorganisms, leads to research on antimicrobial agents such as LAE (Nα-lauroyl-L-arginine ethyl ester monohydrochloride). This compound has great antimicrobial potential against a range of microorganisms and, therefore, its use may be of extreme importance for the food industry in the search for antimicrobial agents with a broad spectrum of action. Thus, the objective of this article is to review the research involving LAE, when studied in vitro, in vivo and in the incorporation in different packaging in order to be released in a controlled manner for food products. In conclusion, despite the fact that it has a strong antimicrobial activity, it is still little known and is not accepted in all countries, including Brazil. With greater insight into this antimicrobial agent, more countries could use it, supporting worldwide in food preservation.

Resumo. Com o intuito de reduzir os problemas ambientais que advêm da utilização excessiva de plásticos, as embalagens de materiais sustentáveis têm despontado pesquisas. Isto posto, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo incorporar as micropartículas de óleo essencial de tomilho em filme de amido. Para o desenvolvimento dos filmes ativos, as partículas com óleo essencial (OE) de tomilho foram produzidas por coacervação complexa com uma eficiência de 82%. O filme formado será caracterizado quanto a sua atividade antimicrobiana. Espera-se o desenvolvimento de um filme ativo apresente propriedades antimicrobianas que configure uma opção natural e ambientalmente amigável para conservação de alimentos.