Foods, together with water and oxygen, are the most important causes of life. Humans need food to survive and the human population is increasing day by day. At the same time, the natural resources available for food production, such as soil and water, are decreasing at a higher rate than the increasing human population. On the other hand, large amounts of natural resources and money and substantial efforts are spent on food production, harvesting, and distribution, while around 10-15% of food in developed countries and 20-40% of food in developing countries are not reaching their final consumers due to postharvest losses. Therefore, it is very important to efficiently handle, store, and utilise products to be able to feed the world in the future.

Agrochemicals play a vital role for the preservation of postharvest food quality. However, numerous studies have reported significant impacts on the environment and human health caused by misuse or excessive use of agrochemicals. Fungicides are the most preferred method for the prevention of postharvest food decay. However, agrochemical residues in food have been criticized by consumers, the media, and scientists throughout the world. This has resulted in a reduction of the acceptability of agrochemicals, which has led to the development of alternatives to agrochemicals. Hereafter, studies have focused on the use of biomaterials for postharvest quality preservation and have reported significant success for biomaterials, including edible coatings including chitosan, carboxyl methyl cellulose, polysaccharides, alginate, plant extracts including essential oils, phytohormones, antioxidants, and organic acids and their salts. The development and use of those materials are believed to help increase sustainability in agricultural production and global food security.

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to discuss the current knowledge about the use of biomaterials for food preservation to light the way for new researchers to develop novel and sustainable technologies for food preservation.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Importance, research advances, and prospects of biomaterials for food preservation
• Use of edible coatings for food preservation
• Use of plant extracts for food preservation
• Use of phytohormones for food preservation
• Use of antioxidants for food preservation
• Use of organic acids and its salts for food preservation