Starch suspension was cross-linked, gelled and then freeze-dried to aerogel. The aerogel was loaded with trans-2-hexanal and coated with sorbitan monooleate. Cross-linking resulted in a higher gel hardness and crystallinity index value. Surface coating introduced a more sustained release character for the loaded hexanal. Coating decreased the lethality rate of Aspergillus cells inoculated on pistachio nut.