Effect of starch type on the film properties of native starch based edible films

Abstract

Abstract Edible films have potential to overcome the problems of synthetic plastics and biodegradable plastics, such as, non-degradability of plastics, difficulty in allotting land fill areas and health hazards. Since the edible packaging films are produced from edible ingredients, they can be eaten by humans and animals along with the contained food items or beverages. As a result, the waste disposal problem is greatly reduced. Even if they do are not eaten, they can degrade more readily compared to those made of the synthetic or biodegradable packaging. Hydrocolloids and lipids have been used for years for edible coating and films for various applications. Among various sources of hydrocolloids, starch based edible films are promising due to easy availability, easy processing, higher yield, high nutritional value, low cost, biocompatibility, biodegradability, edibility and convincing functional properties. Each starch, produced from different sources, is different in composition, and the edible films produced from them could exhibit different film properties. However, the effects of starch source on the film properties were rarely investigated. In this article, the influence of starch sources on film properties was determined. Five starches, extracted from potato, tapioca, corn, rice and tapioca, were used in this investigation. Edible films were prepared using free casting method and the film properties, such as water permeability, film colour, and the mechanical strength were determined. The results were compared and discussed.