Science / Medicine : A Longer Life for Produce?

Scientists are working on a safe-to-eat, nearly invisible coating made from milk that could dramatically extend the shelf life of fruit and vegetables, the California Agriculture Department announced last week.

Chemist Attila E. Pavlath of the department said that in tests of an experimental coating made from the milk protein casein, small pieces of sliced and peeled apple dipped in the coating stayed fresh for several days while unprotected pieces shriveled and turned brown within a few hours.

Pavlath said that scientists hope to eventually make the film thinner and to produce films that “the tongue cannot feel and the taste buds cannot detect” from proteins in soybeans, corn and wheat.

“Some people who like fresh produce don’t necessarily want to spend time in their kitchen washing, slicing, peeling, pitting and paring,” Pavlath said. “It’s part of the trend toward buying food that is ready to use and easy to store.”

A successful coating would allow more types of produce to be pre-sliced and packaged and, unlike waxes on cucumbers or other edible coatings such as the “skin” on sausages, new films could be modified to add flavors or colors to standard fare, Pavlath said.