Use of Food By-Products in Biodegradable Films and Coatings for Food Preservation
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 8835
Special Issue Editors
Interests: active packaging; food packaging; edible films and coatings; food preservation, valorisation of by-products and wastes; bipolymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: essential oils in food preservation; flavor and safety
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: bio-based films; coated paper; materials characterization; nanocomposites processing; bioactive films; coatings for food packaging applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The agri-food sector has been enormously affected by problems related to sources scarcity, food loss and waste generation along the world’s food supply chain, which, in 2019, reached approximately 1.3 billion tons annually with a cost exceeding USD 1000 billion per year. The World Economic Forum argues that a circular economy, intended as an economic system that reduces waste, introducing continual use of resources, could be a USD 4.5 trillion business opportunity. In this view, there is growing interest to switch to a circular economy, offering many opportunities for the entire agri-food system to become more resource-efficient, with positive food security implications.
Agro-industrial and marine by-products and wastes, including husks, feathers, shells, skins, seeds, peels, stems, and leaves, among others, are a source of valuable compounds, such as polysaccharides or proteins, which are useful materials for developing edible or biodegradable coatings and film formulations. Moreover, these by-products of plant and animal origin are a source of natural bioactive substances with interesting antimicrobial and/or antioxidant activities, which, in turn, may enhance the functionality of hydrocolloid-based films and coatings in preserving food quality.
Therefore, we are organizing a Special Issue titled “Use of by-products in biodegradable films and coating for food preservation” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers/special_issues/biodegra_food_preservation) in Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360; CODEN: POLYCK; https://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers). This Special Issue will collect research papers and review articles focused on the recovery of biopolymers and functional compounds from agro-industrial and marine by-products and their use to produce edible or biodegradable packaging materials, thereby contributing to the development of new sustainable packaging strategies for food preservation in the frame of the circular economy concept. The possible contamination of agri-food by-products and wastes, for instance by pesticides or toxins, can pose in risk their potential uses or applications. Therefore, papers that also evaluate the possible level of contamination of agri-food by-products and wastes before their use in the preparation of biodegradable films and coatings are also welcome for this Special Issue.
With your invaluable experience and insights as great scholars in this area, you are sincerely invited to submit a paper to this Special Issue.
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Prof. Dr. Khaoula Khwaldia
Dr. Ana Sanches-Silva
Dr. Hajer Aloui
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- biopolymers
- bioactive compounds
- food packaging
- bioplastics
- circular economy
- sustainability
- films
- coatings
- food preservation
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