Potential of Chitosans in the Development of Edible Food Packaging

Abstract

The development of bio-based and biodegradable packaging materials is currently a crucial challenge regarding environmental impact and human health issues. The majority of materials used in the packaging industry are produced from fossil fuels and are nondegradable. For this reason, packaging materials represent a serious global environmental problem. Knowing that polysaccharides are the most abundant class of biomolecules, the creation of polysaccharide-based materials is, thus, an active research area. In parallel, food safety has been recognized by many national governments as a major social cost, threatening consumer health, and creating trade barriers across the global food web. Therefore, the development of antimicrobial polysaccharide-based edible coatings can be included in this field, in addition to physical treatments such as high-pressure processing and UV light. Chitosan is a high-molecular- weight linear basic polycationic heteropolysaccharide, consisting of two monosaccharides, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and D-glucosamine, linked together by β (1→4) glycosidic bonds. Due to variable relative amounts of both monosaccharides, chitosans are not a uniquely defined compound. This diversity in structure leads to diversity in biological activities. Much of the commercial interest in chitosans and their derivatives arises from the fact that they combine several favorable biological characteristics, including nontoxicity and potential antimicrobial activity. The use of chitosans in the formulation of edible films or coatings can, thus, lead to new active food packaging materials. This is a modern strategy seeking to promote an additional active role to assist in maintaining product quality. The focal point of this chapter is to provide an overview of bioactive chitosan edible coatings that have the potential to enhance the preservation of packaged products with a particular emphasis on (i) criteria limiting their market introduction, (ii) studies based on real food applications and emerging new technologies that can improve their future commercialization. Only non-chemically modified chitosans are targeted.