Development of Edible Films and Coatings with Antimicrobial Activity

By C. Campos, L. Gerschenson, S. Flores. 2011

645 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Over the last years, considerable research has been conducted to develop and apply edible films and coatings made from a variety of agricultural commodities and/or wastes of food product industrialization. Such biopolymers include polysaccharides, proteins, and their blends. These materials present the possibility of being carriers of different additives, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, nutraceuticals, and flavorings agents. In particular, the use of edibles films and coatings containing antimicrobials has demonstrated to be a useful tool as a stress factor to protect foodstuff against spoilage flora and to decrease the risk of pathogen growth. The more commonly antimicrobials used are organic acids, chitosan, nisin, the lactoperoxidase system, and some plant extracts and their essential oils. For the selection of an antimicrobial, it must be considered the effectiveness against the target microorganism and also the possible interactions among the antimicrobial, the film-forming biopolymer, and other food components present. These interactions can modify the antimicrobial activity and the characteristics of the film being these key factors for the development of antimicrobial films and coatings. The main objective of this article is to review the bibliography of the last years concerning the main hydrocolloids and antimicrobials used for developing edible films and coatings, the methods used to evaluate the antimicrobial activity, the applications and the legislation concerning edible films and coatings. Also, the different strategies related to the modification of structural characteristics and the future trends in the development are discussed. The information update will help to improve the design, development, and application of edible films and coatings tending to increase the safety and quality of food products and to prepare for food legislation changes that might be necessary while identifying future trends concerning a better functionality of edible films thought as a stress factor for lengthening shelf life of food products.

Subfields: Biomaterials, Food Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2172851d5bebf0f4375cb711cadaeb8fc90af404

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Biomaterials

1. A. Chiralt
2. A. Jiménez
3. M. Fabra
4. P. Talens
5. M. Rezaei
6. M. Abdollahi
7. M. C. Garrigós
8. K. Panasiewicz

In Food Science

1. A. Jiménez
2. A. Chiralt
3. M. Fabra
4. P. Talens
5. M. Rezaei
6. R. Bhat
7. R. Avena-Bustillos
8. A. A. Karim

Citations in the corpus

• Effects of Vacuum Packaging and Wrapping with Chitosan-Based Edible Film on the Extension of the Shelf Life of Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) Fillets in Cold Storage (4 °C) (2012, background): “In addition, biofilms and/or coatings may act as carriers of antimicrobial agents, antioxidants and other food additives and have been particularly considered in food preservation because of their ability to extend the shelf life (Janjarasskul and Krochta 2010; Campos et al. 2011).”
• Antifungal Edible Coatings for Fresh Citrus Fruit: A Review (2015, background): “ Polysaccharides can form a continuous and cohesive matrix, which is related to their chemical structure by the association through hydrogen bonding of their polymeric chains [25].”
• Protein-Based Films: Advances in the Development of Biomaterials Applicable to Food Packaging (2019, background): “However, through blending, extruding, laminating, or coating with other polymers that possess desirable barrier properties such as polysaccharides, lipids, and/or others polymers, it is possible to take advantage of the distinct functional characteristics of each compound [26, 75, 118].”
• Development and characterization of a novel biodegradable edible film obtained from psyllium seed (Plantago ovata Forsk) (2012, background): “Although all of edible films are not good barriers against water vapor, they could be used as a carrier of active compounds, antimicrobial agents or preservatives, which protect food quality (Campos et al., 2011; Pérez et al., 2009).”
• Polysaccharides as Edible Films and Coatings: Characteristics and Influence on Fruit and Vegetable Quality—A Review (2021, background): “However, the production of edible films using carrageenans is not as popular as they are most commonly used as coatings [67].”
• Starch-Based Coatings for Preservation of Fruits and Vegetables (2018, background): “The film-forming solution or dispersion contains a polymeric material with filmogenic capacity [9].”
• Application of Modified Atmosphere Packaging and Active/Smart Technologies to Red Meat and Poultry: A Review (2012, neutral): “When choosing an appropriate antimicrobial agent, factors such as the targeted microorganism, possible interactions between the antimicrobial compound the biopolymer used for the formation of the film as well as the other food components must be taken into account (Campos et al. 2011).”
• Edible films from pectin: Physical-mechanical and antimicrobial properties - A review (2014, background): “…of antimicrobial edible films is that they target post-processing foodborne pathogens or spoilage microorganisms on food surfaces by the diffusion of the antimicrobial into the food product without increasing excessively the global concentration of the additive in the food (Campos et al., 2011).”