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Chillies of Pusa jwala variety were coated with composite coating formulation made up of methyl cellulose (MC) and oleic acid (OA) to evaluate the effectiveness of edible coating in extending the shelf‐life of chillies. Edible coating showed good stability, transparency and glossiness when applied on chilli fruit. The coatings when applied on green chillies resulted in restriction in metabolic activities and delayed senescence. MC‐based coating was found to reduce physiological weight loss, textural softening and development of red pigment in the fruit peel. Coated fruit synthesized phenolic compound slower than uncoated fruit bringing about slow changes in capsaicin content as well. MC‐OA based coating could extend the shelf‐life of green chillies to 8 days under ambient storage conditions (24 ± 1C, RH 70 ± 5%) against the 5‐day shelf‐life of uncoated ones. Practical Applications Chilli is considered as one of the most important commercial spice crops and is a widely used universal spice. Preserving fresh chillies with simple, edible coating formulation would reduce the cost of preservation using other expensive and energy consuming techniques such as cold storage and CAP/MAP. As the coating gives each fruit its own micro‐packaging, coated fruits can be well handled as those of uncoated chillies. Being edible and water soluble the coating would not be harmful to consumers compared to use of chemical preservatives.

Ensuring safe, fresh, and healthy food across the shelf life of a commodity is an ongoing challenge, with the driver to minimize chemical additives and their residues in the food processing chain. High-value fresh protein products such as poultry meat are very susceptible to spoilage due to oxidation and bacterial contamination. The combination of non-thermal processing interventions with nature-based alternatives is emerging as a useful tool for potential adoption for safe poultry meat products. Natural compounds are produced by living organisms that are extracted from nature and can be used as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and bioactive agents and are often employed for other existing purposes in food systems. Non-thermal technology interventions such as high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, irradiation, and cold plasma technology are gaining increasing importance due to the advantages of retaining low temperatures, nutrition profiles, and short treatment times. The non-thermal unit process can act as an initial obstacle promoting the reduction of microflora, while natural compounds can provide an active obstacle either in addition to processing or during storage time to maintain quality and inhibit and control growth of residual contaminants. This review presents the application of natural compounds along with emerging non-thermal technologies to address risks in fresh poultry meat.