"Synthetic plastics have become popular food packaging materials that are profusely used in various forms and facets. However, in recent years, disposal of plastic food packaging wastes, particularly the single use plastics, have become major concerns as environmental pollutants. In this context, biopolymer based neat, composite or hybrid films and coatings have gained tremendous research interests to address these concerns. Biopolymers are characterized by easy disposal, recycling, rapid biodegradation or composting, which ...
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"Synthetic plastics have become popular food packaging materials that are profusely used in various forms and facets. However, in recent years, disposal of plastic food packaging wastes, particularly the single use plastics, have become major concerns as environmental pollutants. In this context, biopolymer based neat, composite or hybrid films and coatings have gained tremendous research interests to address these concerns. Biopolymers are characterized by easy disposal, recycling, rapid biodegradation or composting, which make them environment-friendly. Plant based biopolymers such as starch, cellulose, pectin, gluten, zein, carnauba wax; animal based biopolymers such as gelatin, casein, chitosan, beeswax; microbial biopolymers such as dextran, pullulan, xanthan, microbial cellulose; and biopolymers derived from biobased monomers such as polylactic acid (PLA) are commonly used to fabricate films and coatings for food packaging applications. Biopolymer based films and coatings suffer from relatively inferior mechanical and barrier properties compared to synthetic plastics, and also lack the desired antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. To address these shortcoming, composite or hybrid films blended with other biopolymer(s) and/or reinforced with filler materials e.g. essential oil components, nanoparticles, antimicrobials and antioxidants, etc. are effective. Despite all these advantages, the manufacturing cost of biopolymer based food packaging films and coatings is higher than that of synthetic plastic films and coatings. But, in recent years, modern technologies and large scale production of these sustainable food packaging have rendered them profitable to food packaging industries. In this chapter, an introductory overview of biopolymers, their classification, properties, and food packaging and preservation applications are described."--
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