Guwahati: Researchers of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-Guwahati) led by Prof Vimal Katiyar, department of chemical engineering and centre for excellence in sustainable polymers (CoE-SusPol), have developed an edible coating to extend the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables.
This coating material, which will prevent wastage, was tested on vegetables such as potato, tomato, green chilli and strawberries, Khasi Mandarin, Apples, pineapples, and Kiwi were found to keep these vegetables fresh for nearly two months.
The IIT-Guwahati researchers believe that their development could help the country meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3 which is aimed at reducing food losses along the production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.
The research team included Prof Vimal Katiyar and Prof Vaibhav V Goud, department of chemical engineering, IIT-Guwahati and CoE-SusPol, IIT-Guwahati, along with their research scholars Kona Mondal, Tabli Ghosh, Mandavi Goswami, Shikha Sharma and Sonu Kumar.
