What if we told you that your fruit may one day not need to be refrigerated to stay fresh?
In a study that has been well documented in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers have taken on a new preservation technique that utilizes a thin edible coating of silk fibroin.
The coating is actually a type of protein and was studied to see what kinds of effects it would have on the preservation of perishable food at room temperature.
Researchers dipped half of their fruit, which composed of strawberries, into the coating, and left the other half without any coating at all at room temperature for a grand total of seven days. The findings were that the food coated in the silk fibroin were significantly fresher.
The team also reportedly tried the stuff with bananas, and found that the coating slowed down the ripening process.
Now I know what you must be thinking; what kinds of side effects will eating this kind of chemical coating have on your body’s health in the long run?
Well, there hasn’t been too much research with the stuff just yet, but it is a water-based protein and is totally edible. What’s more is there’s reportedly no flavor or odor to it and it’s mostly invisible, so you’d never really even know you were eating it.
This stuff could be very useful for keeping fruits fresher longer in grocery stores and food markets, significantly increasing the turnaround time on foods so they can stay on shelves longer.
There will still need to be a lot more testing on how this formula may impact a person’s health over a long span of time, but so far, things are looking pretty promising for silk fibroin coatings.
Source: Nature, Popular Science