Edible Food Packaging: Targeted Biomaterials and Synthesis Strategies

In the current scenario of the emerging nation, the development of edible food packaging in a laboratory or commercial scale has immensely attracted the growing manufacturers. Based on this, the current chapter addresses various targeted biomaterials and synthesis strategies for fabricating edible food packaging. The chapter introduces the characteristics attributes of available biomaterials including polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, fats, and their modification strategies to overcome the existing shortcomings of biopolymers such as poor water solubility, inferior mechanical properties, hydrophilicity, and others in edible food packaging. Further, the use of nanomaterials in edible films and coatings has provided additional benefits in obtaining improved product quality and shelf life. In this regard, a brief overview of using several nanosystems-assisted edible food packaging such as polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic nanofillers, biocomposites, nanoencapsulation, and nanoemulsion has been made. However, the successful development of edible food packaging and its commercialization depends on both selected materials and processing techniques. The edible food packaging is generally availed in the form of edible films and coatings being developed using different approaches with existing benefits and shortcomings. The various processes for fabricating edible coatings including dipping, spraying (conventional and electrospraying), dripping, foaming, fluidized bed coating, brushing, panning, etc., have been detailed. Additionally, the adopted methods for fabricating edible films are solution casting, extrusion, compression molding, blown films, etc. The selection of processing techniques for the development of edible food packaging is dependent on batch size, targeted food products, food properties, geometry of food products, and other attributes. Thus, both the materials property and synthesis strategies play a major role in developing successful edible food packaging materials for highly perishable food products and others.