New packaging materials are an emerging field in the food industry. Poor thermal, mechanical, chemical, and physical properties of biopolymers, and also their inherent permeability to gases and vapor have increased this interest. Biopolymeric materials (matrix) require fillers, which can react/interact with available matrix in order to provide new formulations with improved properties. Many studies have shown the potential use of metal nanoparticles in biopolymeric packaging and edible coatings for improving their properties. The current review summarizes the characterization of bio-nanocomposite films and edible coatings incorporated with metal nanoparticles on the shelf life and quality of tropical fruits, berries, climacteric/non-climacteric fruits and vegetables. It also provides a brief description of some advantages of bio-nanocomposite films and edible coatings applied to fruits and vegetables such as decreasing the color changes, respiration rate, weight loss and extended shelf life, delaying ripening and being environmentally friendly. The results of recent reports provide a better understanding of the impact of metal nanoparticles incorporated in biopolymers on the shelf life and the quality of fruits and vegetables.
Plastic packaging materials (PPMs) protect food from contamination, maintain quality, and ease transportation and distribution. Additives included during the manufacturing and processing of PPMs improve flexibility, durability, barrier properties, and sometimes aid the processing itself. During processing, these additives, even the monomers used to produce the plastics, can produce side products or breakdown products as a result of degradation and various chemical reactions. These starting substances and reaction products include 2,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane (bisphenol A), phthalates/phthalic acid esters, alkylphenols, and bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate, which are considered endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that may interfere with the human endocrine system and produce adverse reproductive, neurological, developmental, and immune effects. When in contact with food, EDCs can migrate into food if conditions are appropriate, thereby possibly jeopardizing food safety. Chemical risk assessment and regulatory control were developed to reduce human exposure to harmful migrated EDCs. This article gives an overview of the migration of EDCs from PPMs and control measures to reduce the risk of adverse impacts on human health.
Zein, a protein-based biopolymer derived from corn, has garnered attention as a promising and eco-friendly choice for packaging food due to its favorable physical attributes. The introduction of electrospinning technology has significantly advanced the production of zein-based nanomaterials. This cutting-edge technique enables the creation of nanofibers with customizable structures, offering high surface area and adjustable mechanical and thermal attributes. Moreover, the electrospinning process allows for integrating various additives, such as antioxidants, antimicrobial agents, and flavoring compounds, into the zein nanofibers, enhancing their functionalities for food preservation. In this comprehensive review, the various electrospinning techniques employed for crafting zein-based nanofibers, and we delve into their enhanced properties. Furthermore, the review illuminates the potential applications of zein nanofibers in active and intelligent packaging materials by incorporating diverse constituents. Altogether, this review highlights the considerable prospects of zein-based nanocomposites in the realm of food packaging, offering sustainable and innovative solutions for food industry.
Linearity assessment as required in method validation has always been subject to different interpretations and definitions by various guidelines and protocols. However, there are very limited applicable implementation procedures that can be followed by a laboratory chemist in assessing linearity. Thus, this work proposes a simple method for linearity assessment in method validation by a regression analysis that covers experimental design, estimation of the parameters, outlier treatment, and evaluation of the assumptions according to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry guidelines. The suitability of this procedure was demonstrated by its application to an in-house validation for the determination of plasticizers in plastic food packaging by GC.
The development and characterization of environmentally friendly bilayer films from sugar palm starch (SPS) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were conducted in this study. The SPS-PLA bilayer films and their individual components were characterized for their physical, mechanical, thermal and water barrier properties. Addition of 50% PLA layer onto 50% SPS layer (SPS50-PLA50) increased the tensile strength of neat SPS film from 7.74 to 13.65MPa but reduced their elongation at break from 46.66 to 15.53%. The incorporation of PLA layer significantly reduced the water vapor permeability as well as the water uptake and solubility of bilayer films which was attributed to the hydrophobic characteristic of the PLA layer. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of SPS50-PLA50 revealed lack of strong interfacial adhesion between the SPS and PLA. Overall, the incorporation of PLA layer onto SPS films enhances the suitability of SPS based films for food packaging.
This study investigated the effects of different types of plant oil (olive oil, corn oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil) on the physical and mechanical properties of kappa-carrageenan films from Euchema cottoni species. The incorporation of plant oils increased the film thickness significantly (P<0.05). However, the moisture content, solubility and tensile strength of films decreased significantly (P<0.05) as plant oils were added. The incorporation of plant oils also contributed to a plasticizing effect, whereby the values for elongation at break increased significantly (P<0.05), from 22.3% to 108.8%. Higher oil content also led to carrageenan films with lower opacity, which contradicted with previous studies. In conclusion, the plant oils used in this research significantly improved film properties, thus demonstrating the potential of these materials to be used as food packaging films and coatings.
Incorporating two different nanoparticles in nanocomposite films is promising as their synergistic effects could significantly enhance polymer performance. Our previous work conferred the remarkable antimicrobial (AM) properties of the polylactic acid (PLA)-based film using optimal formulations of synergistic graphene oxide (GO)/zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocomposites. This study further explores the release profile of GO/ZnO nanocomposite and their impact on the antimicrobial properties. A fixed 1.11 wt% GO and different ZnO concentrations were well dispersed in the PLA matrix. Increasing ZnO concentrations tended to increase agglomeration, as evident in rougher surfaces. Agglomeration inhibited water penetration, leading to a significant reduction in water permeability (46.3 %), moisture content (31.6 %) but an improvement in Young's Modulus (52.6 %). The overall and specific migration of GO/ZnO nanocomposites was found to be within acceptable limits. It is inferred that the release of Zn2+ ions followed pseudo-Fickian behavior with an initial burst effect. AM film with the highest concentration of ZnO (1.25 wt%) exhibited the highest inhibition rate against Escherichia coli (68.0 %), Bacillus cereus (66.5 %), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (70.9 %). Results suggest that GO/ZnO nanocomposites with optimal ZnO concentrations have the potential to serve as promising antimicrobial food packaging materials, offering enhanced barrier, antimicrobial properties and a controlled release system.
Plastics are still the most popular food packaging material and many of them end up in the environment for a long period. Due to packaging material's inability to inhibit microbial growth, beef often contains microorganisms that affect its aroma, colour and texture. Cinnamic acid is categorized as generally recognised as safe and is permitted for use in food. The development of biodegradable food packaging film with cinnamic acid has never been conducted before. This present study was aimed to develop a biodegradable active packaging material for fresh beef using sodium alginate and pectin. The film was successfully developed with solution casting method. The films' thickness, colour, moisture level, dissolution, water vapour permeability, bending strength and elongation at break were comparable to those of polyethylene plastic film in terms of these attributes. The developed film also showed the degradability in soil of 43.26% in a duration of 15 days. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra showed that cinnamic acid was successfully incorporated with the film. The developed film showed significant inhibitory activity on all test foodborne bacteria. On Hohenstein challenge test, a 51.28-70.45% reduction on bacterial growth was also observed. The antibacterial efficacy of the established film by using fresh beef as food model. The meats wrapped with the film showed significant reduction in bacterial load throughout the experimental period by 84.09%. The colour of the beef also showed significant different between control film and edible film during 5 days test. Beef with control film turned into dark brownish and beef with cinnamic acid turn into light brownish. Sodium alginate and pectin film with cinnamic acid showed good biodegradability and antibacterial activity. Further studies can be conducted to investigate the scalability and commercial viability of this environmental-friendly food packaging materials.
The research aimed to explore the potential of palm kernel meal (PKM) as a sustainable source of cellulose nanoparticles (CNPs) for active food packaging. The CNPs were isolated using a combination of chemical techniques, such as alkaline treatment, bleaching, and acid hydrolysis. The characterization of the CNPs was analysed using various techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and UV-visible spectroscopy. The findings revealed that chemical processing effectively removed lignin and hemicellulose from PKM. The SEM morphology confirmed the separation of the CNPs, resulting in the production of 40-100 nm spherical cellulose nanoparticles, while XRD and FTIR analyses confirmed their purity and composition. Moreover, the UV-visible spectroscopy exhibited high transmittance rates, indicating the potential of CNPs as reinforcing agents for polymer matrices. The significance of utilising PKM as a valuable fibre source for extracting CNPs can be recommended for developing active food packaging.
In this study, to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of curdlan film, a curdlan/nanocellulose (NC) blended film was prepared and characterized for the first time. NC was successfully prepared from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) with NaOH/urea treatment. The particle size of NC was observed to be 70-140 nm by cryo-electron microscope (cryo-EM). The blended film was prepared by adding the NC to curdlan solution. The tensile strength (TS) of the blended film reached the maximum value of 38.6 MPa, and the elongation at break (EB) was 40%. The DSC curve showed that the heat absorption peak of the film was 240 °C, indicating that the blended film has good temperature stability. Additionally, some other film properties were also improved, including gas barrier properties and transparency. Obvious morphological and molecular differences between the blended film and the pure curdlan film were discovered by SEM and FTIR analysis. Finally, the blended film was used for the preservation of chilled meat and extended the storage time of meat to 12 days. These results provided a theoretical basis for future application and development of biodegradable film.
Plastic throughout the years is now one of the biggest world commodities and also the largest pollution to have an environmental impact, accumulating in landfills and also leaching into water systems and oceans. Especially with the shift to single-use disposable plastic, evermore positions plastics as the number one novel entity that pollutes the earth. This shift is also consistent in the food packaging industry. Managing plastic waste is still an issue at large, while the process of pyrolysis incineration still requires an obscene amount of energy that also does not resolve the problems with its environmental impact, the cost of mechanical-chemical degradation even outweighs the cost of producing the materials, and biodegradation process is a very slow and long process. Converting to bioplastics is one of the potential solutions to the global plastic issue. This review covers the potentials, limitations, challenges, progress and advancements of bioplastics, especially thermoplastic starch (starch-based bioplastic) in their efforts to replace petroleum plastics in food packaging and smart food packaging, especially for single-use (disposable) food packaging.