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Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications

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A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Coatings for Food Technology and System".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2020) | Viewed by 50448

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Prospero Di Pierro

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Guest Editor

Department of Agricultural Sciences; Centre for Food Innovation and Development in the Food Industry (CAISIAL), University of Naples Federico II, Portici, 80055 Naples, Italy
Interests: enzyme technology; food biochemistry; future foods; food packaging by active/intelligent coatings; nanocomposites
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Giovanna Rossi-Marquez

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Co-Guest Editor

Instituto Tecnológico José Mario Molina Pasquel y Henríquez, Lagos de Moreno, Mexico
Interests: food packaging; edible coatings; by-products; microfluidics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Cristian Davalos-Saucedo

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Co-Guest Editor

Instituto Tecnológico José Mario Molina Pasquel y Henríquez, Lagos de Moreno, Mexico
Interests: microfluidics; food packaging; edible coatings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, awareness of environmental pollution due to plastic consumption has stimulated the research and development of new materials for food packaging that are mainly responsible for plastic waste. The main characteristic of these new packaging materials is their sustainability, biodegradability, and low toxicity. Biopolymers that possess these characteristics are proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. Films represent a preformed material with specific mechanical and barrier properties that depend on the composition of the film-forming solution and on the methodology used to obtain the film. Based on the uses and composition, films can be classified as edible and/or biodegradable. Conversely, the coating represents a thin layer of material, applied in liquid state directly on the surface of the food: in this way, the properties of the coating are related to the compositions of the film-forming solutions and the food surfaces that can affect the structure of coating during drying. Due to the impossibility of removing it from the surface of foods, coating is preferable to edible material. Many strategies were used to improve the properties of edible films and coatings, among the proposed there is the blending of different type of proteins or the blending of proteins and polysaccharides, the chemical modification of natural proteins or polysaccharides, the chemical or enzymatic reticulation between the polymer chains, and the addition of plasticizers to improve the plasticity or the addition of nanoparticles to obtain nano-conjugate materials. Moreover, in recent years, concepts of active packaging and intelligent packaging have been developed and successfully applied in food packaging. This last point has piqued interest in the use of biopolymers as starting materials to make nanoparticles to be used as containers for active compounds.

The aim the present Special Issue is to present the latest developments in this field through research and review papers.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. In particular, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

New proteins and or polysaccharides with film forming properties;
Protein based films, polysaccharides-based films, lipid-based films, and their mixtures;
The effect of protein–protein or protein–polysaccharides interaction on film properties;
Film and coatings surface functionalization;
New plasticizers;
The stabilization of film-forming solutions for industrial application;
The methodology to synthesizing nanoparticles from biopolymers and their uses as containers for active compounds;
Edible films and coatings for food packaging;
Biopolymers to make active and intelligent packaging;
Methodologies for making edible/biodegradable films;
Methodologies for coating food surfaces;
Biosensors for making intelligent packaging.

Prof. Dr. Prospero Di Pierro
Dr. Giovanna Rossi-Marquez
Dr. Cristian Davalos-Saucedo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Edible film and coatings
Nanocomposites
Food shelf life
Active coating
Intelligent coating
Encapsulation

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2986 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Transglutaminase Cross-Linking in Protein Isolates from a Mixture of Two Quinoa Varieties with Chitosan on the Physicochemical Properties of Edible Films

by Monserrat Escamilla-García, Luis Felipe Delgado-Sánchez, Raquel Adriana Ríos-Romo, Blanca E. García-Almendárez, Georgina Calderón-Domínguez, Juan Vicente Méndez-Méndez, Aldo Amaro-Reyes, Prospero Di Pierro and Carlos Regalado-González

Coatings 2019, 9(11), 736; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9110736 - 06 Nov 2019

Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3888

Abstract

The growing demand for minimally processed foods with a long shelf life and environmentally friendly materials has forced industry to develop new technologies for food preservation and handling. The use of edible films has emerged as an alternative solution to this problem, and mixtures of carbohydrates and proteins, may be formulated to improve their properties. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of protein cross-linking with transglutaminase (TG) of two varieties of quinoa protein isolate (Chenopodium quinoa) [Willd (QW), and Pasankalla (QP)] on the physicochemical and barrier properties of edible films based on chitosan (CT)-quinoa protein. The evaluated properties were water vapor permeability (WVP), solubility, adsorption, roughness determined by atomic force microscopy, and the interactions among the main film components determined by Raman spectroscopy. The results indicated that TG interacted with lysine of QW and QP. CT:QW (1:5, w/w) showed the lowest solubility (14.02 ± 2.17% w/w). WVP varied with the composition of the mixture. The WVP of CT:quinoa protein ranged from 2.85 to 9.95 × 10⁻¹¹ g cm Pa⁻¹ cm⁻² s⁻¹ without TG, whereas adding TG reduced this range to 2.42–4.69 × 10⁻¹¹ g cm Pa⁻¹ cm⁻² s⁻¹. The addition of TG to CT:QP (1:10, w/w) reduced the film surface roughness from 8.0 ± 0.5 nm to 4.4 ± 0.3 nm. According to the sorption isotherm, the addition of TG to CT-QW films improved their stability [monolayer (X_m) = 0.13 ± 0.02 %]. Films with a higher amount of cross-linking showed the highest improvement in the evaluated physical properties, but interactions among proteins that were catalyzed by TG depended on the protein source and profile. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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15 pages, 24315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Novel Edible Coating with Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities Based on Whey Protein Isolate Nanofibrils and Carvacrol and Its Application on Fresh-Cut Cheese

by Qiannan Wang, Hongliang Yu, Bo Tian, Bin Jiang, Jing Xu, Dongmei Li, Zhibiao Feng and Chunhong Liu

Coatings 2019, 9(9), 583; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9090583 - 16 Sep 2019

Cited by 37 | Viewed by 4756

Abstract

The composition and properties of edible coatings (ECs) will significantly influence their effects of food preservation. For the first time, whey protein isolates nanofibers (WPNFs), as a novel material with high hydrophobicity and antioxidant activity, combined with carvacrol (CA) as an antimicrobial agent and glycerol (Gly) as a plasticizer, was used to prepare edible coating (WPNFs-CA/Gly) for preserving fresh-cut Cheddar cheese. The prepared WPNFs and ECs emulsions have been investigated with transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the antioxidant activity of ECs emulsions, antimicrobial activity of edible films, and the physical properties of edible films, such as micromorphology, thickness, transparency, and moisture content, have also been evaluated. The weight losses and physical characteristics of both coated and uncoated fresh-cut Cheddar cheese samples have been assessed during storage. The DPPH free radical scavenging rate of WPNFs-CA/Gly emulsion was up to 67.89% and the reducing power was 0.821, which was higher than that of WPI-CA/Gly emulsions. The antimicrobial activity of WPNFs-CA/Gly films was nearly 2.0-fold higher than that of WPNFs/Gly films for the presence of CA. The WPNFs-CA/Gly films had smooth and continuous surfaces, and the transparency reached 49.7% and the moisture content was 26.0%, which was better than that of WPI-CA/Gly films. Furthermore, Cheddar cheese with WPNFs-CA/Gly coatings has shown lower weight losses (15.23%) and better textural properties than those uncoated samples. This in-depth study has provided a valuable and noteworthy approach about the novel edible coating material. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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12 pages, 2437 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Biopolymer Coatings as Alternative to Modified Atmosphere Packaging for Shelf Life Extension of Minimally Processed Apples

by Stefania Volpe, Silvana Cavella and Elena Torrieri

Coatings 2019, 9(9), 569; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9090569 - 06 Sep 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3193

Abstract

The effect of caseinate/chitosan blend on the shelf life of minimally processed apples was studied. In the first phase of the work, the effect of the biopolymer coating on the respiration rate of the minimally processed apples was studied as function of gas composition (5%, 10%, 21% of O₂ with N₂ as balance at 5 °C) and temperature (5 °C, 10 °C at 5% of O₂ with N₂ as balance). In the second phase, the shelf life of the packed product was studied during storage at 5 °C. The gas composition (O₂%-CO₂%) in the package headspace, relative humidity, pH, hardness, color and antioxidant capacity of the product were monitored after 0, 1, 4, 7, 11, and 14 days. The coating effectively reduced respiration rate of the product when oxygen was over 10%. In the presence of the coating, the reduction of oxygen did not affect the respiration rate. At 5% of O₂, the respiration rate decreased by 50% by changing the temperature from 10 °C to 5 °C. Shelf life study showed that the chitosan—caseinate coating was able to preserve the mechanical properties and the antioxidant capacity of the product during storage by increasing the shelf life by 7 days to 11 days at 5 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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11 pages, 692 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Formulation and Characterization of Edible Films Based on Organic Mucilage from Mexican Opuntia ficus-indica

by Dulce C. González Sandoval, Brenda Luna Sosa, Guillermo Cristian Guadalupe Martínez-Ávila, Humberto Rodríguez Fuentes, Victor H. Avendaño Abarca and Romeo Rojas

Coatings 2019, 9(8), 506; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9080506 - 09 Aug 2019

Cited by 49 | Viewed by 5747

Abstract

The consumption of organic products has increased in recent years. One of the most important products in Mexico is nopal. Nopal’s content and properties make the formulation of edible films possible. In this study, we aimed to develop and characterize biodegradable edible films containing mucilage from Opuntia ficus-indica. The mucilage extraction yield, thickness, color, water vapor permeability, light transmission rate, film transparency, solubility, stability of dispersion, and puncture strength were measured. The use of mucilage from different cultivars affected the water vapor permeability (8.40 × 10⁻¹¹ g·m⁻¹·s⁻¹·Pa⁻¹ for cultivar Villanueva, 3.48 × 10⁻¹¹ g·m⁻¹·s⁻¹·Pa⁻¹ for Jalpa, and 1.63 × 10⁻¹¹ g·m⁻¹·s⁻¹·Pa⁻¹ for Copena F1). Jalpa provided the most soluble mucilage with the highest thickness (0.105 mm). Copena F1 provided the clearest film with the greatest transparency (3.81), the best yellowness index, and the highest resistance (4.44 N·mm⁻¹). Furthermore, this film had the best light transmission rate (48.93%). The Copena F1 showed the best film formation solution viscosity. These results indicate that mucilage mixed with pectin is a potential source for the formulation of edible films. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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12 pages, 896 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of Edible Films Based on Alginate or Whey Protein Incorporated with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and Prebiotics

by Joana Odila Pereira, José Soares, Eduardo Costa, Sara Silva, Ana Gomes and Manuela Pintado

Coatings 2019, 9(8), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9080493 - 04 Aug 2019

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 4384

Abstract

Recently, edible films were shown to be an effective strategy for the delivery of functional ingredients, such as probiotics and prebiotics. With that in mind, two soluble fibres (inulin and fructooligosaccharides) were selected as prebiotic elements, in whey protein isolate (WPI) and alginate (ALG) matrices plasticized with glycerol and used for the incorporation of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12. The results obtained showed that the viability of the B. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 probiotic strain was maintained within the minimum threshold (10⁶ CFU/g) necessary to act as a probiotic throughout 60 days of storage at 23 °C. The incorporation of prebiotic compounds improved B. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 viability, with inulin showing the best performance, as it maintained the viability at 7.34 log CFU/g. The compositional characteristics (biopolymer type and prebiotics addition) of the film forming solutions had no significant impact upon the viability of the probiotic strain. The incorporation of probiotics and prebiotics did not modify the infrared spectra, revealing that the molecular structure of the films was not modified. The moisture content and water solubility decreased positively in WPI- and ALG-based films with the addition of prebiotics compounds. Overall, the results obtained in this work support the use of WPI films containing inulin as a good strategy to immobilize B. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12, with potential applications in the development of functional foods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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13 pages, 2302 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preservative Effects of Gelatin Active Coating Enriched with Eugenol Emulsion on Chinese Seabass (Lateolabrax maculatus) during Superchilling (−0.9 °C) Storage

by Qianqian Zhou, Peiyun Li, Shiyuan Fang, Wenru Liu, Jun Mei and Jing Xie

Coatings 2019, 9(8), 489; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9080489 - 01 Aug 2019

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 3560

Abstract

This research was to evaluate the effects of gelatin (G) active coating containing eugenol/β-cyclodextrin (βCD) emulsions combined with superchilling (−0.9 °C) on physicochemical, microbiological, and organoleptic properties of Chinese seabass samples during 30 days of storage. Results showed that seabass samples dipped in G-βCD coatings containing 0.15% or 0.3% eugenol combined with superchilling could significantly lower the total volatile basic nitrogen, K value, total viable count, H₂S-producing bacteria, Pseudomonas spp. and Psychrophilic counts, and free fatty acids. Further, G-βCD coatings containing eugenol with superchilling (−0.9 °C) were more effective in retarding the water migration by low field NMR and MRI results, maintaining quality of seabass during storage according to organoleptic evaluation results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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16 pages, 1149 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Microbiological and Physicochemical Properties of Meat Coated with Microencapsulated Mexican Oregano (Lippia graveolens Kunth) and Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) Essential Oils Mixture

by Elvia Hernández-Hernández, Gustavo Castillo-Hernández, Claudia J. González-Gutiérrez, Areli J. Silva-Dávila, Jorge N. Gracida-Rodríguez, Blanca E. García-Almendárez, Prospero Di Pierro, Pedro Vázquez-Landaverde and Carlos Regalado-González

Coatings 2019, 9(7), 414; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9070414 - 28 Jun 2019

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3924

Abstract

Microencapsulated essential oils (EOs) are increasingly used to protect the safety of foods due to their natural origin. The aim of this work was to determine the chemical composition of Mexican oregano (Lippia graveolens Kunth) (MOEO) and basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) (BEO) EOs, their combined effect against E. coli O157:H7, Lactobacillus plantarum, Brochothrix thermosphacta and Pseudomonas fragi, and their effect on microbiological and physicochemical properties of coated pork meat. EOs chemical composition was determined by GC/MS, their microencapsulated mixture (4 mg MOEO/mL/11 mg BEO/mL) was added to a filmogenic dispersion. Fluorescent probes were used to study the antimicrobial filmogenic active dispersion (FD) effect. Pork meat pieces were coated without microencapsulated EOs (CC), using FD (AC), or uncoated (C), vacuum packed and stored 28 days at 4 °C. Thymol (28.9%) and linalool (23.7%) were the major components of MOEO and BEO, respectively. The cell membrane of all bacteria was damaged by contact with FD. FD-coated samples (AC) exhibited the lowest concentration of 2-thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) (0.027 ± 0.001 mg malonaldehyde/kg meat) and natural microbiota growth, while odor and color were the most accepted by untrained judges (range > 6). Coatings added with microencapsulated EOs mixture are a natural food preservation alternative to increase the shelf life of refrigerated meat products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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9 pages, 1489 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Glycerol-Plasticized Films Obtained from Whey Proteins Denatured at Alkaline pH

by Manar Abdalrazeq, C. Valeria L. Giosafatto, Marilena Esposito, Maria Fenderico, Prospero Di Pierro and Raffaele Porta

Coatings 2019, 9(5), 322; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9050322 - 16 May 2019

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 4283

Abstract

Whey represents the major by-product of cheese industry. One possibility to recycle the whey wastes is the use of their globular proteins as a polymer source for the production of biodegradable plastic materials. Whey protein (WP)-based films are usually obtained by protein heat treatment in the presence of glycerol (GLY) as plasticizer at pH 7, a method which would require commercially high costing process. In this work we explored the possibility of producing manageable whey-derived materials without any heat-treatment but under alkaline conditions. The reported results demonstrated that the casting at pH 12 of the unheated WP film forming solutions (FFSs), containing either 40% or 50% GLY, led to produce more resistant and flexible materials than the ones obtained at pH 7. Film opacity was observed significantly increased, being higher in the samples obtained at alkaline pH without WP heating and with higher GLY concentrations. Finally, moisture content decreased with the reduction of GLY content, both in heated and unheated WP-based films, whereas water uptake of the different films prepared at pH 12 did not significantly change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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Review

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14 pages, 696 KiB

Open AccessReview

Novel Materials in the Preparation of Edible Films and Coatings—A Review

by Sabina Galus, Emine Aytunga Arik Kibar, Małgorzata Gniewosz and Karolina Kraśniewska

Coatings 2020, 10(7), 674; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings10070674 - 14 Jul 2020

Cited by 170 | Viewed by 15746

Abstract

The development of edible films and coatings has seen remarkable growth in recent decades and is expected to have an important impact on the quality of food products in the coming years. This growth is attributed to the increasing knowledge of edible films and edible coating technology, as well as advances in material science and processing technology. Packaging is used in order to reduce synthetic packaging and can play a role as an eco-friendly biodegradable package or a protective coating on the food surface. A large amount of bio-based polymers have been used in the production of edible films and coatings. Novel sources of edible materials, as well as the novel processing techniques, are a subject of great interest due to their promising potential as innovative food packaging systems. This paper presents the concept and potential for application of new film-forming materials and management of food wastes from the fruit and vegetable industry, which can encounter problems in appropriate disposal. It summarizes the extensive knowledge about the new film-forming materials such as plant residues, flours and gums to show their protective effectiveness and suitability in various types of foods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Edible Films and Coatings: Fundamentals and Applications)

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