without compromising its biodegradable nature. The treatment offers to the cellulose substrates water and oil resistance, resistance to moisture, and mechanical reinforcement, all properties that cellulose lacks intrinsically, so it can be a viable solution to increase its request in the sustainable food packaging market. The book continues with Chapter 11 “Nanocellulose‐Based Multidimensional Structures for Food Packaging Technology,” by Saumya Chaturvedi et al., which deals with nanocellulose‐based food packaging solutions. The authors present an overview of the different kinds of nanocellulose, which include fibrils or crystallites with at least one dimension in the nanoscale range, and their properties depending on the origin, i.e. plants or bacteria, and the isolation methods. The chapter proceeds with the ways that nanocellulose, alone or combined with polymers, forms various compact structures that can be used for packaging. Finally, the authors focus on two types on nanocellulose, the cellulose nanofibers and the cellulose nanocrystals, emphasizing their differences and reporting the research that was done so far on their freestanding films either alone or as polymer fillers, comparing them with conversional plastics films used in the food packaging sector.
A book on Sustainable Food packaging could not be complete without Part IV dedicated to “Natural Principles in Active and Intelligent Food Packaging for Enhanced Protection and Indication of Food Spoilage or Pollutant Presence,” since sustainability is closely related to the extension of the shelf life of food and the prevention of food waste. Wasting food is economically nonviable, not ethical, and drains the already very limited natural resources. Chapter 12 “Sustainable Antimicrobial Packaging Technologies,” by Yildirim Selçuk and Bettina Röcker, presents advancements in the use of bioactive substances combined within biopolymers from renewable resources as protective food packaging with antimicrobial action against foodborne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms. The authors introduce the concept of active packaging, its different categories, and specific actions, with a dedicated section on the antimicrobial active packaging, its classes, research advances, and regulations. Then, they analyze separately the most studied natural antimicrobial agents, i.e. essential oils and phenolic compounds; organic acids, their salts and anhydrides; bacteriocins and enzymes; and the antimicrobial polymer chitosan, with references of their use as active additives in packaging of food systems. The authors conclude their chapter with the strategies needed for a successful and rapid introduction of active sustainable antibacterial packaging in the food packaging industry. Chapter 13 “Active Antioxidant Additives in Sustainable Food Packaging,” by Thi Nga Tran, deals also with active packaging but in this case with antioxidant activity. The author starts with an introduction to the urgent need of a significant reduction of food losses and wastes, and how protection from oxidation, using packaging systems of biopolymers combined with natural antioxidant substances, could help. The chapter continues with a detailed analysis of the various antioxidant molecules extracted by plants, their combination with biopolymers into active food packaging, and the properties of the obtained packaging systems, including, of course, their antioxidant activity. A particular mention is made to the possibility of using raw dried plants powders, even from agricultural by‐products, as antioxidant fillers into biopolymers for the development of active sustainable food packaging, avoiding the extraction costs. Part IV of the book ends with Chapter 14 “Natural and Biocompatible Optical Indicators for Food Spoilage Detection,” by Maria E. Genovese et al., which presents another very interesting approach in food waste prevention. The authors describe packaging materials with incorporated natural or biocompatible molecules that change their molecular structure, and thus their optical properties, in the presence of food spoilage. Consequently, when a specific food spoilage by‐product is present, the active packaging changes one or more optical properties (i.e. color, spectral absorption, fluorescence) enabling a real‐time and direct naked eye spoilage detection. The authors introduce the factors determining food spoilage, and analyze thoroughly the conventional methods, as well as the most recent portable technologies for on‐site and on‐package detection of the spoilage, together with the functioning principles of these technologies. Then, the authors focus on the description of the various functional components used for the optical and colorimetric spoilage indication usually embedded in a polymeric, most of times natural renewable, support, as well as the specific spoilage by‐product they can detect. A particular emphasis is given on the sensing potential of natural dyes and pigments extracted from plants, i.e. curcumin and anthocyanins, as well as their synthetic counterparts, due to their eco‐friendly nature.
The book closes with Part V “Technological Developments in the Engineering of Biocomposite Materials for Food Packaging Applications,” where Chapter 15 “Biopolymers in Multilayer Films for Long Lasting Protective Food Packaging: A Review,” by Ilker S. Bayer, presents the possibilities that technology provides to take advantage of the various biopolymers and composites combining them in unique solutions for food packaging. Apart from melt extrusion, injection molding, blow molding, and thermoforming, all techniques used broadly in the plastic industry and mentioned in the various chapters of this book, Chapter 15 describes the ways of making multilayer films that can combine the unique properties of the various biopolymer layers into one material. The chapter reviews both multilayer laminates of biopolymers with conventional oil‐derived polymers and all sustainable laminates, based on proteins, polysaccharides, or biopolyesters. The author concludes that multilayer laminates of carefully chosen biopolymers and biocomposites could be the ideal materials for food packaging since they combine sustainability with optimized desired properties due to their unique construction.
Athanassia Athanassiou
Genova, Italy
29 September 2020
References
1 1 Jambeck, J.R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C. et al. (2015). Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science: 768–771.
2 2 Data for the year 2018 From ING Economics Department and https://www.statista.com/statistics/282732/global-production-of-plastics-since-1950.
1 Emerging Trends in Biopolymers for Food Packaging
Sergio Torres‐Giner, Kelly J. Figueroa‐Lopez, Beatriz Melendez‐Rodriguez, Cristina Prieto, Maria Pardo‐Figuerez, and Jose M. Lagaron
Novel Materials and Nanotechnology Group, Food Safety and Preservation Department, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Calle Catedrático Agustín Escardino Benlloch 7, 46980, Paterna, Spain
1.1 Introduction to Polymers in Packaging
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), approximately one‐third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted [1]. Food waste is produced throughout the whole food value chain, from the household to manufacturing, distribution, retail, and food service activities. Taking into consideration the limited natural resources available, it is more effective to reduce food waste than to increase food production. For this reason, several efforts have been put for the development of more
