Fig. 2: Fruit preservation by physical, chemical, and biological methods.

Physical methods include thermal (hot water or hot air treatment) and non-thermal (irradiation, ultrasound, pulse electric field, and high pressure) techniques. Irradiation includes UV-light, pulse light, gamma-ray, and X-ray. Chemical methods include chemical preservatives in the form of liquid or gasses, and organic or inorganic nanoparticles. In a biological approach, fruit shelf life can be increased by inhibiting microbial growth using plant extracts and essential oils as antimicrobials and using an edible coating or active packaging to decrease water or moisture loss enhance the nutritional property and inhibit microbial growth. (Figure created using Microsoft PowerPoint).