State of the Art on Functional Coatings for Applications in The Agri-Food Industry

Nowadays, consumer’s awareness regarding edible and functional coatings used in the food industry is increasing because of their novel approach on prolonging the shelf life of agri-food products that during storage, are subjected to a loss of quality attributes, which inevitably contributes to food waste. In order to combat this problem, functional coatings and edible films can be used because of their capability to extend the shelf life of food products by providing gas and water barrier properties and delaying microbial spoilage. The aim of this study is to review the literature and outline the most recent findings and developments regarding edible and functional coatings used in the food industry. Functional and edible coatings can be applied on different types of food products, like meat products, different kinds of cheeses and fruits and vegetables. mainly because they help maintain the organoleptic proprieties, such as aroma, taste and appearance and prologue their shelf life. The new concept of functional coatings and edible packaging has significantly influenced the marketing and safety aspects of food products and further studies and developments are needed to improve these technologies.

Effect of acetic and citric acid solvent combination with cinnamon oil on quality of edible packaging from chitosan

Chitosan is one of the fishery by-products, which is extracted from shrimp and crab carapace. Chitosan can be processed into edible packaging. The nature of chitosan edible packaging is depended on the type of solvent used while extraction. Acetic acid produces a strong coating with good barrier properties but less elastic, while citric acid produces an elastic layer but has relatively low barrier properties and weak coating. Cinnamon essential oil can inhibit bacterial growth. This study aimed to obtain the best proportion combination of acetic and citric acid solvents which can improve mechanical properties and permeability of the edible packaging, also determine the effect of cinnamon essential oil in inhibiting Salmonella and S. aureus bacteria. The experimental design used a completely randomized design (CRD), with solvent combination treatment in preliminary research initially followed by chitosan and cinnamon essential oil addition in the subsequent research. Data showed that the best edible packaging properties were obtained from a combination of acetic and citric acid (2:2) with 30.67 MPa tensile strength, 65.35% elongation, 0.0422 mm thickness, and moisture permeability 3.02x10−10 g.m.m−2.s−1.pa−1. The concentration of 1.5 g of chitosan with 1.5% cinnamon essential oil can produce an antibacterial with 10.15 mm inhibition zone diameter in Salmonella sp. and 9.53 mm in Staphylococcus aureus

Application of Encapsulation Technology in Edible Films: Carrier of Bioactive Compounds

Nutraceuticals, functional foods, immunity boosters, microcapsules, nanoemulsions, edible packaging, and safe food are the new progressive terms, adopted to describe the food industry. Also, the rising awareness among the consumers regarding these has created an opportunity for the food manufacturers and scientists worldwide to use food as a delivery vehicle. Packaging performs a very imminent role in the food supply chain as well as it is a consequential part of the process of food manufacturing. Edible packaging is a swiftly emerging art of science in which edible biopolymers like lipids, polysaccharides, proteins, resins, etc. and other consumable constituents extracted from various non-conventional sources like microorganisms are used alone or imbibed together. These edible packaging are indispensable and are meant to be consumed with the food. This shift in paradigm from traditional food packaging to edible, environment friendly, delivery vehicles for bioactive compounds have opened new avenues for the packaging industry. Bioactive compounds imbibed in food systems are gradually degenerated, or may change their properties due to internal or external factors like oxidation reactions, or they may react with each other thus reducing their bioavailability and ultimately may result in unacceptable color or flavor. A combination of novel edible food-packaging material and innovative technologies can serve as an excellent medium to control the bioavailability of these compounds in food matrices. One promising technology for overcoming the aforesaid problems is encapsulation. It can be used as a method for entrapment of desirable flavors, probiotics, or other additives in order to apprehend the impediments of the conventional edible packaging. This review explains the concept of encapsulation by exploring various encapsulating materials and their potential role in augmenting the performance of edible coatings/films. The techniques, characteristics, applications, scope, and thrust areas for research in encapsulation are discussed in detail with focus on development of sustainable edible packaging.

Biological Modification of Pentosans in Wheat B Starch Wastewater and Preparation of a Composite Film

Background: Petrochemical resources are becoming increasingly scarce, and petroleum-based plastic materials adversely impact the environment. Thus, an urgent need exists to replace petroleum-based materials with new and effective renewable materials.Results: In this study, we isolated a wheat pentosan-degrading bacterium (MXT-1) from wheat-processing plant wastewater. The MXT-1 strain was identified using molecular biology techniques. We then analyzed the degradation characteristics of the bacteria in wheat pentosan. We found that wheat pentosan was effectively degraded by bacteria. The molecular weight of fermented wheat pentosan decreased from 1730 to 257 kDa. The pentosan before and after the biological modification was mixed with chitosan to prepare a composite film. After fermentation, the water-vapor permeability of the wheat pentosan film decreased from 0.2769 g·mm·(m2·h·KPa)-1 to 0.1286 g·mm·(m2·h·KPa)-1. The smooth and dense surface morphologies of the film was observed by scanning electron microscopy after fermentation. The tensile strength of the film decreased after fermentation modification, whereas the flexibility increased.Conclusion: The results of this study have proved that the modified pentosan film could be a potential candidate for edible packaging films.

Natural Antimicrobials as Additives for Edible Food Packaging Applications: A Review

Edible packaging is a swiftly emerging art of science in which edible biopolymers like lipids, polysaccharides, proteins, resins, etc., and other consumable constituents extracted from various non-conventional sources are used alone or imbibed together. Edible packaging with antimicrobial components had led to the development of the hypothesis of active packaging which safeguards the quality of foods as well as health of consumers. Natural antimicrobial agents (NAMAs) like essential oils from spices, bioactive compounds derived from vegetables and fruits, animal and microorganism derived compounds having antimicrobial properties can be potentially used in edible films as superior replcement for synthetic compounds, thus serving the purpose of quality and heath. Most of the natural antimicrobial agents enjoy GRAS status and are safer than their synthetic counterparts. This review focuses on updated literature on the sources, properties and potential applications of NAMAs in the food industry. This review also analyzes the biodegradability and biocompatibility and edibility properties of NAMAs enriched films and it can be concluded that NAMAs are better substitutes but affect the organoleptic as well as the mechanical properties of the films. Despite many advantages, the inclusion of NAMAs into the films needs to be investigated more to quantify the inhibitory concentration without affecting the properties of films and exerting potential antimicrobial action to ensure food safety.

Development and Characterization of Fenugreek Protein-Based Edible Film

The present investigation studied the physicochemical, mechanical, structural, thermal, and morphological attributes of a novel edible film formed from fenugreek protein concentrate. Films were produced at different pH—9, 10, 11, and 12—and the effect of the pH on the films was studied. As the pH increased, tensile strength increased while water vapor absorption decreased, which is interrelated to the surface morphological properties; as the pH increased, the surface became smoother and compact without any cavities. The films produced were darker in color. Fenugreek protein films exhibited good thermal stability. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the presence of strong bonding for the films made at alkaline pH. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) indicated the major structure of the film was amorphous. The study demonstrated that the fenugreek protein concentrate film has influential characteristics and can be used as an edible packaging film.

Comprehensive Review of Polysaccharide-Based Materials in Edible Packaging: A Sustainable Approach

Edible packaging is a sustainable product and technology that uses one kind of “food” (an edible material) to package another kind of food (a packaged product), and organically integrates food with packaging through ingenious material design. Polysaccharides are a reliable source of edible packaging materials with excellent renewable, biodegradable, and biocompatible properties, as well as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Using polysaccharide-based materials effectively reduces the dependence on petroleum resources, decreases the carbon footprint of the “product-packaging” system, and provides a “zero-emission” scheme. To date, they have been commercialized and developed rapidly in the food (e.g., fruits and vegetables, meat, nuts, confectioneries, and delicatessens, etc.) packaging industry. However, compared with petroleum-based polymers and plastics, polysaccharides still have limitations in film-forming, mechanical, barrier, and protective properties. Therefore, they need to be improved by reasonable material modifications (chemical or physical modification). This article comprehensively reviews recent research advances, hot issues, and trends of polysaccharide-based materials in edible packaging. Emphasis is given to fundamental compositions and properties, functional modifications, food-packaging applications, and safety risk assessment of polysaccharides (including cellulose, hemicellulose, starch, chitosan, and polysaccharide gums). Therefore, to provide a reference for the development of modern edible packaging.