Scientists from Canada have developed a special edible coating based on agar, into which zinc salts and tannins were added. This coating demonstrated the ability to keep strawberries fresh for at least four days when stored at room temperature.
The berries treated with this agar layer showed improved characteristics: they lost less moisture, became more resistant to mold development, and were less susceptible to mechanical damage (bruising).
The results of this scientific work were officially presented in the journal Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.