A Study on Edible Polymer Films for Food Packaging Industry: Current Scenario and Advancements

Abstract

Over the past two decades, food packaging and packaging industry have paid close attention to create biodegradable and edible polymer films and coatings. In a broad way, edible polymers emerged as a new class of materials that garnered significant properties due to their advantages over synthetic petroleum-based films. When compared to conventional packaging materials, edible polymer films can fundamen- tally simplify products, improving their potential to be recycled. This work aims to give readers a thorough introduction to edible polymer films, by discussing present research trends, classification, functionality and composition, fabrication, and char- acterization. The work also emphasizes the advantages and disadvantages of edible polymer films based on meat, poultry, dairy products, fruits, nuts, and vegetables.