Preparation and sealing processing of sodium alginate based blending film

Abstract

Edible packaging has been successfully used for packaging of low moisture foods such as wrappers. One of the hurdles in the use of edible packaging for moisture rich foods is its ability to successfully seal the package, which is critical due to the lower strength and elastic characteristics of edible films compared to plastic based films. Three important sealing parameters, namely, adhesive concentration, pressure, and temperature during sealing, were investigated to assess sealing performance of the edible film. The edible film was prepared from blend of three polymers (sodium alginate, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, and gelatin) based on previous research work. The seal was evaluated for seal strength and a quadric regression model to predict seal strength as a function of adhesive concentration, pressure, and temperature during sealing was established. The model was statistically significant P < 0.05 and an optimum combination of sealing parameters was obtained to be 24.4% adhesive concentration, 0.28 MPa pressure, and 153°C temperature. A sealing time of 1 s was used for all samples. All three factors were significant taken individually and interactions of the three factors were also significant (P < 0.05 or 0.10) except for the interaction between adhesive concentration and sealing temperature.