Biodegradable Packaging Used in the Food Industry

Dear Colleagues,

An ecological concern of the modern world is reducing the environmental impact of packaging by finding alternatives for plastic. Innovations in packaging have so far been mainly limited to a small number of materials: new polymers, as well as complex and multilayer materials with new designs for marketing purposes. Food packaging should not simply play a passive role in protecting and marketing a food product. Thus, the new concepts of active and intelligent packaging will play an increasingly important role, offering innovative solutions for extending shelf life or maintaining, improving, or monitoring food quality and safety. New food packaging technologies are developing in response to consumer demands or industrial production trends towards easy-to-preserve, fresh, tasty, and affordable food products with extended shelf lives and safety. In addition, changes in retail practices or consumer lifestyles present major challenges to the food packaging industry and act as driving forces for the development of new and improved concepts that extend shelf life while maintaining and monitoring safety and quality. One solution may be to use starch as a bioplastic. Due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability and availability, starch is considered an environmentally friendly material and has been widely used in the production of edible films and coatings for food packaging. Various foods such as fruits, vegetables, snacks and dry goods can be packaged using starch as the primary packaging (a biodegradable film that comes into direct contact with the food). Corn starch, for example, is considered to be the most suitable alternative to plastic in this regard. Considerable improvements in the properties of starch films have been reported with the production of composite materials or blends, and obtaining active and/or smart films using various additives.

Prof. Dr. Ovidiu Tita
Prof. Dr. Adriana Dabija
Prof. Dr. Georgiana Gabriela Codină
Guest Editors

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