Emerging Nanomaterial Applications for Food Packaging and Preservation: Safety Issues and Risk Assessment

The contribution of nanomaterials to the development of food packaging systems has been enormous in last years. Nanomaterial is defined as material having one or more dimensions in the range of 1–100 nm. Nano-sized materials change their optical, magnetic, electrical, and other properties, and for this reason are widely used in food packaging. Nanoparticles (NPs), nanocomposites (NCs), nanoclays (NCs), nanoemulsions (NEs), nanosensors (NSs), and nanostructures (NSTs) are some of the important nanomaterials that have been used in food packaging and preservation. Nanomaterials can offer solutions in food packaging and preservation through active and smart packaging, edible coatings, and the development of a wide range of capable nanosystems. Therefore, nanomaterials can be considered as important tools and efficient options for controlling, limiting, and improving safety parameters and food quality that are highly desirable in food technology. Innovative nanomaterials even achieve real-time food quality monitoring, providing an efficient option in food preservation applications. The toxicological risk posed by the use of nanomaterials in food packaging, particularly the case of edible nano-packaging, is significantly linked to the migration phenomenon as well as the occurrence of toxic effects on the exposed human body.

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Gelatin-Based Films and Coatings for Food Packaging Applications

Coatings ◽

10.3390/coatings6040041 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 41 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Marina Ramos ◽

Arantzazu Valdés ◽

Ana Beltrán ◽

María Garrigós

Keyword(s):

Food Quality ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Healthy Lifestyle ◽

Edible Films ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Fish Products ◽

Wide Range ◽

Future Potential ◽

Packaging Industry ◽

Global Food

This review discusses the latest advances in the composition of gelatin-based edible films and coatings, including nanoparticle addition, and their properties are reviewed along their potential for application in the food packaging industry. Gelatin is an important biopolymer derived from collagen and is extensively used by various industries because of its technological and functional properties. Nowadays, a very wide range of components are available to be included as additives to improve its properties, as well as its applications and future potential. Antimicrobials, antioxidants and other agents are detailed due to the fact that an increasing awareness among consumers regarding healthy lifestyle has promoted research into novel techniques and additives to prolong the shelf life of food products. Thanks to its ability to improve global food quality, gelatin has been particularly considered in food preservation of meat and fish products, among others.

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Chitosan based antimicrobial films for food packaging applications

e-Polymers ◽

10.1515/epoly.2008.8.1.1082 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Shipra Tripathi ◽

G. K. Mehrotra ◽

P. K. Dutta

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Activity ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Antimicrobial Properties ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Pathogenic Microorganisms ◽

Packaging System ◽

Antimicrobial Packaging ◽

Wide Range ◽

Chitosan Films ◽

Antimicrobial Films

AbstractAntimicrobial packaging is one of the most promising active packaging systems. Antimicrobial packaging is the packaging system that is able to kill or inhibit spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms that are contaminating foods. A tremendous effort has been made over the last decade to develop and test films with antimicrobial properties to improve food safety and shelf life. For food preservation, chitosan films are very effective. Chitosan has widely been used in antimicrobial films, to provide edible protective coating, dipping and spraying for the food products due to its antimicrobial properties. Chitosan can be formed into fibers, films, gels, sponges, beads or nanoparticles. Chitosan films have been used as a packaging material for the quality preservation of a variety of food. Chitosan has great potential for a wide range of applications due to its biodegradability, biocompatibility, antimicrobial activity, non-toxicity and versatile chemical and physical properties. The present review outlines the preparation and antimicrobial activity of chitosan based films.

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Bacteriocins: Production, different strategies of purification and applications

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.26452/ijrps.v10i3.1376 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 1808-1817 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vishakha Sharma ◽

Rahul C Ranveer ◽

Neelam Jain ◽

Gajender Kumar Aseri

Keyword(s):

Food Safety ◽

Food Processing ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Safety Parameters ◽

Pharmaceutical Industries ◽

Quality Of Food ◽

Antibacterial And Antifungal ◽

Food Safety And Quality

Food safety and quality are the major concern for food processing industries. In today's world, people are getting more conscious about food safety parameters. In this regard, bacteriocin plays a major role in ensuring the safety and quality of food products. From those, LAB bacteriocins are of great interest due to their GRAS status. They are widely used in food preservation, agriculture and pharmaceutical industries. They have also been incorporated into food packaging material due to their both antibacterial and antifungal properties. In this review, we highlighted the possible ways to produce and purify bacteriocin and also the potential application to be used as a natural preservative.

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Nanomaterials to Enhance Food Quality, Safety, and Health Impact

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano10050941 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 941 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sergio Torres-Giner ◽

Cristina Prieto ◽

Jose M. Lagaron

Keyword(s):

Controlled Release ◽

Food Quality ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Health Impact ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Point Of View ◽

Industrial Wastes ◽

Added Value ◽

Novel Technologies ◽

Melt Compounding

Food quality and safety are key aspects to guarantee that foods reach consumers in optimal conditions from the point of view of freshness and microbiology. Nanotechnology offers significant potential to secure or even enhance these aspects. Novel technologies, such as nanofabrication and nanoencapsulation, can provide new added value solutions for the fortification of foods with bioactives and targeted controlled release in the gut. Nanomaterials can also support food preservation aspects by being added directly into a food matrix or into food contact materials such as packaging. Thus, nanomaterials can be leveraged in the form of nanocomposites in food packaging design by melt compounding, solvent casting, lamination or electrohydrodynamic processing (EHDP) to promote passive, active, and even bioactive properties such as barrier, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and oxygen scavenging roles and the controlled release of functional ingredients. These attributes can be exerted either by the intended or non-intended migration of the nanomaterials or by the active substances they may carry. Lastly, nanomaterials can be advantageously applied to provide unique opportunities in Circular Bioeconomy strategies in relation to the valorization of, for instance, agro-industrial wastes and food processing by-products.

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Edible Films and Coatings as Food-Quality Preservers: An Overview

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10020249 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 249

Author(s):

Elsa Díaz-Montes ◽

Roberto Castro-Muñoz

Keyword(s):

Food Packaging ◽

Fruits And Vegetables ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Food Products ◽

Edible Films ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Edible Coatings ◽

Nutritional Properties ◽

Current State ◽

Synthetic Materials

Food preservation technologies are currently facing important challenges at extending the shelf-life of perishable food products (e.g., meat, fish, milk, eggs, and many raw fruits and vegetables) that help to meet the daily nutrient requirement demand. In addition, food preservation has gone beyond only preservation; the current techniques are focused on the fulfillment of two additional objectives, the suitability of the used processes and generation of environmentally friendly products with non-presence of any side effect on health. Moreover, they are also looking for additional nutritional properties. One of these preservation protocols deals with the use of edible films and coatings. Therefore, this review shows an overview of synthetic materials (e.g., glass, aluminum, plastic, and paperboard), as well as the regulations that limit their application in food packaging. Further, this review releases the current-state-of-the-art of the use of films and edible coatings as an alternative to conventional packaging, providing the main features that these biodegradable packaging should meet towards specific uses for the conservation and improvement of various food products. Herein, particular attention has been paid to the main used components (e.g., biopolymers, additives, bioactive, and probiotic components), manufacturing methods (for edible films or coatings) and their application to specific products. In addition, an outlook of the application of edible films and coatings as quality indicators of perishable products is shown.

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Utilization of Agro-Industrial Wastes as Edible Coating and Films for Food Packaging Materials

10.5772/intechopen.99786 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Urmila Choudhary ◽

Basant Kumar Bhinchhar ◽

Vinod Kumar Paswan ◽

Sheela Kharkwal ◽

Satya Prakash Yadav ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Shelf Life ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Edible Films ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Solid Wastes ◽

Industrial Wastes ◽

Packaging Materials ◽

Edible Coatings ◽

Biodegradable Packaging ◽

Synthetic Materials

Mostly, food packaging employs synthetic materials obtained from nonrenewable sources. These packaging materials are based on petrochemicals and cause substantial environmental problems by producing massive amounts of non-biodegradable solid wastes. Edible coatings and films are considered as the potential solution to these problems of non-biodegradable packaging solid wastes for maintaining food-environment interactions, retaining food quality, and extending shelf life. In addition, edible coatings and films offer prevention from microbial spoilage of packed foods by controlling moisture and gas barrier characteristics. Increasing environmental concerns and consumer demands for high-quality eco-friendly packaging have fueled the advancement of innovative packaging technologies, for instance, the development of biodegradable films from renewable agricultural and food processing industry wastes. Therefore, the current chapter presents the application of edible coatings and films as an alternative to conventional packaging, emphasizing the fundamental characterization that these biodegradable packaging should hold for specific applications such as food preservation and shelf life enhancement. The primary employed components (e.g., biopolymers, bioactive, and additives components), manufacturing processes (for edible films or coatings), and their application to specific foods have all been given special consideration in this chapter. Besides, a future vision for the use of edible films and coatings as quality indicators for perishable foods is presented.

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Trends in Chitosan as a Primary Biopolymer for Functional Films and Coatings Manufacture for Food and Natural Products

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13050767 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 767

Author(s):

Elsa Díaz-Montes ◽

Roberto Castro-Muñoz

Keyword(s):

Food Packaging ◽

Composite Films ◽

Edible Films ◽

Biological Properties ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Environmental Damage ◽

Biodegradable Packaging ◽

Product Consumption ◽

New Concepts ◽

Processed Products

Some of the current challenges faced by the food industry deal with the natural ripening process and the short shelf-life of fresh and minimally processed products. The loss of vitamins and minerals, lipid oxidation, enzymatic browning, and growth of microorganisms have been the main issues for many years within the innovation and improvement of food packaging, which seeks to preserve and protect the product until its consumption. Most of the conventional packaging are petroleum-derived plastics, which after product consumption becomes a major concern due to environmental damage provoked by their difficult degradation. In this sense, many researchers have shown interest in edible films and coatings, which represent an environmentally friendly alternative for food packaging. To date, chitosan (CS) is among the most common materials in the formulation of these biodegradable packaging together with polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids. The good film-forming and biological properties (i.e., antimicrobial, antifungal, and antiviral) of CS have fostered its usage in food packaging. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to collect and discuss the latest development works (over the last five years) aimed at using CS in the manufacture of edible films and coatings for food preservation. Particular attention has been devoted to relevant findings in the field, together with the novel preparation protocols of such biodegradable packaging. Finally, recent trends in new concepts of composite films and coatings are also addressed.

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Progresses in Food Packaging, Food Quality, and Safety—Controlled-Release Antioxidant and/or Antimicrobial Packaging

Molecules ◽

10.3390/molecules26051263 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (5) ◽

pp. 1263

Author(s):

Cornelia Vasile ◽

Mihaela Baican

Keyword(s):

Food Quality ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Life Extension ◽

Quality And Safety ◽

Testing Methods ◽

Food Handling ◽

Active Food Packaging ◽

Matrix Modification ◽

Radiofrequency Identification ◽

Food Quality And Safety

Food packaging is designed to protect foods, to provide required information about the food, and to make food handling convenient for distribution to consumers. Packaging has a crucial role in the process of food quality, safety, and shelf-life extension. Possible interactions between food and packaging are important in what is concerning food quality and safety. This review tries to offer a picture of the most important types of active packaging emphasizing the controlled/target release antimicrobial and/or antioxidant packaging including system design, different methods of polymer matrix modification, and processing. The testing methods for the appreciation of the performance of active food packaging, as well as mechanisms and kinetics implied in active compounds release, are summarized. During the last years, many fast advancements in packaging technology appeared, including intelligent or smart packaging (IOSP), (i.e., time–temperature indicators (TTIs), gas indicators, radiofrequency identification (RFID), and others). Legislation is also discussed.

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Developing Relative Humidity and Temperature Corrections for Low-Cost Sensors Using Machine Learning

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21103338 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (10) ◽

pp. 3338

Author(s):

Ivan Vajs ◽

Dejan Drajic ◽

Nenad Gligoric ◽

Ilija Radovanovic ◽

Ivan Popovic

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Air Quality ◽

Relative Humidity ◽

Low Cost ◽

Quality Monitoring ◽

Air Quality Monitoring ◽

Lower Accuracy ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Impact ◽

Monitoring Stations

Existing government air quality monitoring networks consist of static measurement stations, which are highly reliable and accurately measure a wide range of air pollutants, but they are very large, expensive and require significant amounts of maintenance. As a promising solution, low-cost sensors are being introduced as complementary, air quality monitoring stations. These sensors are, however, not reliable due to the lower accuracy, short life cycle and corresponding calibration issues. Recent studies have shown that low-cost sensors are affected by relative humidity and temperature. In this paper, we explore methods to additionally improve the calibration algorithms with the aim to increase the measurement accuracy considering the impact of temperature and humidity on the readings, by using machine learning. A detailed comparative analysis of linear regression, artificial neural network and random forest algorithms are presented, analyzing their performance on the measurements of CO, NO2 and PM10 particles, with promising results and an achieved R2 of 0.93–0.97, 0.82–0.94 and 0.73–0.89 dependent on the observed period of the year, respectively, for each pollutant. A comprehensive analysis and recommendations on how low-cost sensors could be used as complementary monitoring stations to the reference ones, to increase spatial and temporal measurement resolution, is provided.

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Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Based Sensors for Priority Pollutants

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21072406 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (7) ◽

pp. 2406

Author(s):

Mashaalah Zarejousheghani ◽

Parvaneh Rahimi ◽

Helko Borsdorf ◽

Stefan Zimmermann ◽

Yvonne Joseph

Keyword(s):

Environmental Protection Agency ◽

Selective Adsorption ◽

Low Cost ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Priority Pollutants ◽

Molecularly Imprinted ◽

Innovative Strategies ◽

Safety Issues ◽

Long Term Stability ◽

Wide Range

Globally, there is growing concern about the health risks of water and air pollution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a list of priority pollutants containing 129 different chemical compounds. All of these chemicals are of significant interest due to their serious health and safety issues. Permanent exposure to some concentrations of these chemicals can cause severe and irrecoverable health effects, which can be easily prevented by their early identification. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer great potential for selective adsorption of chemicals from water and air samples. These selective artificial bio(mimetic) receptors are promising candidates for modification of sensors, especially disposable sensors, due to their low-cost, long-term stability, ease of engineering, simplicity of production and their applicability for a wide range of targets. Herein, innovative strategies used to develop MIP-based sensors for EPA priority pollutants will be reviewed.

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