A natural film has many advantages over plastic sheets that it can replace in protecting food, especially fruit. The film is made of edible material, from proteins extracted from maize, wheat and other plants. The coating slows the loss of moisture and oxidation, lengthening the foods' shelf life.

For fruits shipped over long distances, “the reduction of losses compensates any costs” of the product, Rubens Bernardes Filho, of the Brazilian agricultural research agency Embrapa, told Tierramérica.

Research continues, because each food requires a different coating to maintain its properties over time. Protecting fruits from the Amazon is one goal.

The aim is also to make use of agroindustrial residues, like sorghum, to bring down the cost of raw materials, said Bernardes, one of the researchers at the Embrapa unit where the product was developed.