0000000000522503
AUTHOR
Francesca Callegarin
Lipids and biopackaging
Packaging is important to preserve food quality. It is a barrier to water vapor, gas, aroma, and solute migration between the food and the environment. With the recent increase in ecological consciousness, research has turned toward finding biodegradable materials. The different kinds of biopackaging are discussed with special focus on edible films. The aim of this review is to focus on the influence of lipids used in edible films, mainly for their efficiency as water-vapor barriers. The structure, degree of saturation, chainlength, physical state, shape and dimension of crystals, and distribution of lipids into the film influence the functional properties of the film. In general, the perfo…
Lipid hydrophobicity, physical state and distribution effects on the properties of emulsion-based edible films
Abstract Addition of lipids to polysaccharide-based films is necessary to improve water vapor barrier properties but it leads to a decrease of mechanical properties. Model emulsified edible films mainly composed of methylcellulose (film-forming substance) and lipid mixtures (moisture barrier) were prepared. The effect of the physicochemical characteristics of the lipid phase (hydrophobicity and physical state) and of its distribution within the methylcellulose-matrix on the mechanical and water vapor barrier film properties was investigated. The nature of the lipid phase had little influence on mechanical properties of emulsified films, but had a substantial effect on the water vapor barrie…