Food packaging is an important area of food research due to its prime role in the protection and containment of foodstuffs. Traditionally petroleum-derived polymers fulfill the lion's share of packaging material requirements. However, present-day consumers are more concerned about the environmental impact and health hazards of these synthetic polymers. This necessitates the requirement of alternative packaging material with unique biodegradable and renewable characteristics. The edible film is considered a solution to replace these synthetic plastics with naturally available bio-macromolecules such as polysaccharides, proteins, and lipids. An enormous number of researches have been carried out across the world to explore its full potential. Their findings need to be consolidated for further development of this trending research area. Therefore, this article comprehensively reviews previous research progresses, such as different film formulations from various sources and their characteristics and product applications to guide the enthusiastic researchers. Finally, the last section of this article elaborates on safety and regulation aspects as well as recent trends and challenges to tackle all the obstacles in establishing a greener packaging option. 

Trends in Edible Packaging Films and its Prospective Future in Food: A Review

Counterfeit medicines are a fundamental healthcare problem, threatening patient safety and public health as well as causing economic damage. Online pharmacies and the ongoing pandemic have promoted medicine counterfeiting. However, the existing anticounterfeit methods are limited because of material toxicity, low security, and complicated fabrication. Here a dosage‐level security method is introduced that combines digital watermarking and physical printing at the material level. A set of requirements is designed to ensure the edibility, printability, imperceptibility, and robustness of cyber‐physical watermarking. An inkjet printer using safe food coloring is adapted to print a watermarked image on a recombinant luminescent silk protein taggant to enhance attack resistance. Machine learning of color accuracy recovers unavoidable color distortions during printing and acquisition, allowing robust smartphone readability. An edible watermarked taggant affixed to each individual medicine can offer anticounterfeit and authentication features at the dosage level, empowering every patient to aid in abating illicit medicines.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/adfm.202112479

Cyber‐Physical Watermarking with Inkjet Edible Bioprinting

Nowadays, edible and eco-friendly packaging applications have been studied as an alternative to conventional/synthetic packaging due to the great interest of consumers in healthy, safe, and natural food, and of researchers in meeting the needs of consumers and producers. Various biopolymers are being extensively explored as potential materials for food packaging. The edible biopolymers utilized so far for packaging applications include proteins, lipids, and polysaccharides. Occasionally, these biopolymers have incorporated different bioactive substances to enhance the composite films’ characteristics. Gelatin and chitosan are two of the most important biopolymers for the production of films. Different biopolymers or bioactive substances have been incorporated into the matrix to enhance the gelatin-based and chitosan-based films. By incorporating other biopolymers and bioactive compounds, the composite films’ overall physicochemical and mechanical characteristics are improved. Additionally, by incorporating bioactive compounds (polyphenolic compounds, natural extracts, and essential oils), the composite films present important biological properties, such as antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

/pdf/recent-progress-in-functional-edible-food-packaging-based-on-150v01el.pdf

Recent Progress in Functional Edible Food Packaging Based on Gelatin and Chitosan

Reinforcement of starch film with Castanea sativa shells polysaccharides: Optimized formulation and characterization.

eptidase family M9 (MEROPS database) is true collagenases and contains bacterial collagenases from Vibrio and Clostridium. One of the producers of M9A subfamily peptidase is Aeromonas salmonicida (locus - ASA_3723). The aim of the study was production of recombinant metallopeptidase Aeromonas salmonicida by transformation Pichia pastoris for further meat tenderization. Laboratory amounts of recombinant peptidase were obtained and test evaluation of enzyme activity was performed. Recombinant peptidase broke the peptide bond «Pro-Leu-Gly-Met-Trp-Ser-Arg» (one of the collagen chains, (Mw = 846.06)). The concentration of the substrate (peptide) after 180 min was 2 – fold decrease as compared with control. The maximum shear force of heat-treated samples had a 1.27 – fold decrease as compared with the control. As a result of histological studies of beef shank samples, the specific effect of the supernatant on the structure of connective tissue was established. Muscle fibers have not changed. The recombinant enzyme could be used for the meat tenderization.

/pdf/recombinant-metalloprotease-as-a-perspective-enzyme-for-meat-1ujdk269pq.pdf

Recombinant metalloprotease as a perspective enzyme for meat tenderization

Natural biopolymers are an interesting resource for edible films production, as they are environmentally friendly packaging materials. The possibilities of the application of main animal proteins and natural polysaccharides are considered in the review, including the sources, structure, and limitations of usage. The main ways for overcoming the limitations caused by the physico-chemical properties of biopolymers are also discussed, including composites approaches, plasticizers, and the addition of crosslinking agents. Approaches for the production of biopolymer-based films and coatings are classified according to wet and dried processes and considered depending on biopolymer types. The methods for mechanical, physico-chemical, hydration, and uniformity estimation of edible films are reviewed.

Approaches in Animal Proteins and Natural Polysaccharides Application for Food Packaging: Edible Film Production and Quality Estimation.

The slaughter of farm animals generates a large number of by-products. Meat waste management includes various methods, but cost-effective technologies are still in priority. This manuscript reports the results of the study of antimicrobial activity of substances isolated from such wastes of meat processing industry as bovine and pork mucous membranes and epithelial tissues. Proteomic study included two-dimensional electrophoresis with following mass spectrometric identification. Antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes, P. aeruginosa and S. aureus of neutralized native extracts and after enzymatic treatment as well as its ultrafiltrates was determined by flow cytometry with EvaGreen and PI dyes. It was shown that a large number of histones were found in bovine mucous membranes as well as several tissue-specific proteins, which would be a precursor of bioactive peptides. Bovine mucous membranes of the tongue and nasal cavity possessed the greatest activity in relation to P. aeruginosa, the rate of surviving cells decreased to 22.0%. Bovine mucous membranes of the rectum and the oral cavity, submandibular lymph nodes, pig mucous membranes of the larynx, tongue, lips, and rectum increased dead cells count up to 40% of all cells. Bovine nasal mucosa and pork mucous of labial cavity possessed the greatest activity against S. aureus, the rate of surviving cells did not exceed 10.0%. Determination of antimicrobial action against L. monocytogenes of native samples and treated with trypsin showed that bovine mucous membranes of the rectum and oral cavity, pork mucosa of the lips and submandibular glands were the most active. Treatment with trypsin or ultrafiltration demonstrated different effects on activity of samples. It was shown the perspectivity of recycling of such type of by-products into effective and demanded substances which can be used, for example, in the food industry as an alternative to chemical preservatives.

/pdf/assessment-of-antimicrobial-potential-of-substances-isolated-47q1908p48.pdf

Ekaterina Polishchuk

Papers

Approaches in Animal Proteins and Natural Polysaccharides Application for Food Packaging: Edible Film Production and Quality Estimation.

Assessment of antimicrobial potential of substances isolated from some wastes of meat processing industry