Use of antimicrobial edible films and coatings as packaging materials for food safety

In recent years, the packaging industry has also started to research new technologies due to increased consumer demand for the minimally processed foods. One of these new technologies is edible films and coatings produced from natural polymers such as protein, polysaccharide, and lipid derived which are biodegradable and could be used as active packaging material. Researches on the use of edible films as packaging materials continue because of the potential of these films to enhance food quality, food safety, and product shelf life. Edible films and coatings have many advantages such as biodegradability, edibility, bio-compatibility with aesthetic appearance and barrier properties against oxygen, ability to resist physical stress. Edible films and coatings are also can be used as a carrier of natural or chemical antimicrobial agents such as organic acids, chitosan, nisin, lactoperoxidase system, and some other plant extracts and essential oils. So they may reduce the risks of growth of spoilage or pathogenic microorganisms in foods by the addition of antimicrobial substances in edible films and coatings and so can prolong the shelf life of foods. Choosing the active antimicrobial is important to prolong shelf life. For effective antimicrobial selection, some possible interactions must be considered such as between the target microorganisms and antimicrobial, film-forming biopolymer, and other food components. In recent years, effective results have been achieved by using antimicrobial edible films and coatings and some model systems have established. In this chapter, the history of antimicrobial edible films and coatings, evaluation of edible packaging performance, characteristics of biopolymers and antimicrobial substances which are used for preparation of antimicrobial edible film coatings, functional properties, legal and economic aspects, some food applications, and the place and importance of antimicrobial edible films and coatings in future reviewed. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York