target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#u2c5d2a54-e051-5043-87fc-a6c2aa649fe6">Chapter 2 “Biopolymers Derived from Marine Sources for Food Packaging Applications,” by Jone Uranga et al., presents the two most important biopolymers for food packaging, originating from marine biomass, fish gelatin and chitosan. Regarding gelatin, the chapter describes the extraction methods of collagen by fish waste biomass, and the subsequent production gelatin by partial hydrolysis of collagen. The authors continue with a presentation of the methods of development of gelatin coatings and films as food packaging and their impact on the food shelf life extension. Regarding chitosan, the authors first analyze the extraction methods of chitin by marine biomass, such as crustacean shells and squid pens, before its transformation to chitosan by deacetylation. Finally, the development, properties, and effect on the packaged food life extension are analyzed for the various chitosan coatings and films presented in the literature as food packaging solutions. Chapter 3 “Edible Biopolymers for Food Conservation,” by Elisabetta Ruggeri et al., describes the innovative idea of natural polymeric protective coatings or films for food preservation and freshness extension that can be consumed together with the food, accompanied by the various regulations that would cover such use. The authors analyze the various biopolymers that can be transformed into edible packaging, classifying them as polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and their mixtures. They present the various ways of development of the films for wrapping or of the coatings applied directly onto the food, their properties, and the possibility to act as matrices for functional additives, like antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. Finally, the authors provide information on the possible limitations and on the future perspectives of natural edible food packaging.
The book continues with Part II “Food Packaging‐Based on Individual Biopolymers and Their Composites,” where the most promising biopolymers and their composites for the food packaging sector are presented separately. Part II describes both the biopolymers that have already found their way to the market together with their future challenges, and the biopolymers that are not yet in the market but due to their unique properties have a good potentiality. Indeed, Chapter 4 “Polylactic acid (PLA) and Its Composites: An Eco‐friendly Solution for Packaging,” by Swati Sharma, describes research advancement related to food packaging based on PLA and its composites, indisputably the most available and promising biopolymer currently present in the market. The chapter starts with the synthetic routes of PLA and continues with the description of its physical properties, emphasizing the ones essential for food packaging materials. Subsequently, the author presents a review on the various fillers, i.e. synthetic and natural fibers or nanoparticles, that have been used to enhance the relevant properties of PLA, and closes the chapter with the current uses in the market and the future perspectives of this exceptional biopolymer. Chapter 5 “Green and Sustainable Packaging Materials using Thermoplastic Starch,” by Anshu Anjali Singh and Maria Erminia Genovese, is dedicated to biocomposites based on thermoplastic starch, a biopolymer with great potentiality for food packaging due to its abundance, biodegradability, and low price, that has already found its way to the market. Although the chapter is dedicated to a specific biopolymer, the authors make an analytical introduction to the plastic threat that has made vital the need of sustainable polymers especially in the food packaging sector, and present the various categories of biopolymers available for this purpose emphasizing on starch. They continue with the presentation of research studies on thermoplastic starch composites developed for packaging applications underlining their most relevant properties, such as mechanical properties, gas and vapor permeability and biodegradability, their processing methods, their possible drawbacks, while they also present the commercially available packaging solutions. Finally, they conclude with the challenges to be addressed and the future developments needed for starch, its composites, and its derivatives in food packaging. Chapter 6 “Cutin‐inspired Polymers and Plant Cuticle‐like Composites as Sustainable Food Packaging Materials,” by Susana Guzman‐Puyol et al., presents the unique biopolymer cutin, the main component of cuticle, which constitutes the outer surfaces of plants and serves as a protective layer from the environment. The authors introduce the dramatic effect of plastics to the environment and the alternative bio‐based and biodegradable biopolymers. They continue with the description of plant cuticle, its natural role, its structure and its composition, where the principle component cutin is introduced. A quantitative comparison of the physical properties of cutin and various biodegradable biopolymers reveals the strong and weak points of the former, and the ways to obtain cutin from its main resource, the tomato pomace, are described. The authors also present scalable techniques for the synthesis of cutin‐inspired polyesters and methods to tune their properties. Finally, the methods to fabricate cutin‐inspired coatings and cuticle‐like composites as protective packaging for food are presented. Chapter 7 “Zein in Food Packaging,” by Ilker S. Bayer, gives an exhaustive presentation of the protein biopolymer, zein, highly promising for food packaging mainly due to its film‐forming capability and hydrophobic properties. Its origin, molecular structure, and general properties are first introduced. The focus of the chapter is on the fabrication methods of zein‐based films and their characterization as food packaging materials. The presented methods are solvent casting, melt extrusion, solvent or melt blending with biopolymers, and lamination, either with other bio‐polymers or petroleum‐based polymeric films. The author closes the chapter with the future perspectives and his point of view on the directions that zein development should follow in order to be a valid candidate for the food packaging industry.
Part III of the book is dedicated to the most abundant natural polymer of our planet, the cellulose, and is entitled “Biocomposites of Cellulose and Biopolymers in Food Packaging.” It presents sustainable composites of biopolymers with cellulose in various forms, with exceptional properties, competitive to the conventional nonbiodegradable plastics, for the food packaging market. In particular, Chapter 8 “Cellulose‐reinforced Biocomposites Based on polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) PHBV for Food Packaging Applications,” by Estefania Lidon Sanchez‐Safont et al., deals with the microbial polymers polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and discusses how cellulose fibers can improve their properties to make them competitive for the food packaging market. Specifically, the authors analyze separately, first the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of two bacterial biopolymers, PHB and PHBV, and subsequently the properties of lignocellulose fibers that make them ideal candidates as reinforcing fillers in composites. Next, they review the research that has been done so far on the combination of PHB and PHBV with various lignocellulose fibers and they present the great potentiality of such composites as food packaging materials, indicating the weak points to be overcome. Chapter 9 “Poly‐Paper: Cellulosic‐filled Eco‐composite Material with Innovative Properties for Packaging,” by Romina Santi et al., focuses on a very interesting patented material, made of cellulose microfibers in the sustainable, water‐soluble poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix, with the name Poly‐Paper. Poly‐paper can be very versatile in terms of manufacturing processes and final properties, and as such, can find many ways to enter into the packaging market. Indeed, it can be processed by extrusion, injection molding, and thermoforming, while at the end of life can reenter in the paper recycling chain. Chapter 10 “Paper and Cardboard Reinforcement by Impregnation with Environmentally Friendly High‐performance Polymers for Food Packaging Applications,” by Uttam C. Paul and José A. Heredia‐Guerrero, describes their research on a different approach to cellulose‐based food packaging. Cellulose is not present as micro or nanofiller in a polymer, but in the form of an intact substrate, like paper or cardboard, impregnated with environmentally safe, biocompatible polymers and composites, in order to attain properties that
