Are edible coatings (with or without essential oil/extract) game changers for maintaining the postharvest quality of strawberries? A meta-analysis

Strawberries have limited storage potential due to their sensitive structure, resulting in high postharvest losses during transportation and storage. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the actual effect size of utilizing edible coatings (with or without essential oils and extracts) on maintaining the quality, appearance, and sensory acceptance of strawberries during postharvest storage. The effect of different categorical moderators including the presence or absence of essential oil/extract in the coating, the polymer type (polysaccharide, protein, combination of both), storage duration (1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks), and storage temperature (room temperature and cod storage) were also determined through random-effects model analysis. The potential publication bias was examined through funnel plot (Trim and Fill method), Rosenthal’s fail-safe number and Egger’s test. After full text screening based on inclusion/exclusion criteria, a total of 56 papers, including 115 studies were selected for meta-analysis. Based on the obtained results, coated strawberries exhibited significantly (p < 0.001) higher firmness (47.3 %), total acidity (19.9 %), sensory acceptance (64.8 %), chromacity (13.3 %) and the lower weight loss (-35.6 %) and decay percentage (-46.3 %) compared to uncoated ones. Incorporating essential oils into edible coating significantly increased chromacity (27.7 %) and total acidity (21.8 %) while adding extract significantly enhanced the retaining of firmness (90.3 %) and weight (39.4 %) in stored strawberries. The results of the current meta-analysis provide better understanding and insights into the efficiency of incorporating essential oils and extracts into edible coating for fruit, particularly strawberries. [Display omitted] •Edible coatings without EOs/extracts had a better sensory acceptance.•Edible coatings without EOs/extracts displayed better inhibition against decay.•Extract-coatings preserved a higher firmness compared to EO or none of them.•EO-coatings acted better in retaining color and TA of strawberries during storage.