BACKGROUND: The article reviews the recent developments in bioplastic food packaging. Several bioplastic materials (polylactide, polyhydroxyalkanoates, and starch) have been successfully converted into food packaging using conventional plastic conversion technologies including extrusion, injection molding, and compression molding. Recently, bioplastic packaging has been developed into active packaging which can either control the release of active ingredients or scavenge undesirable substances. This review emphasizes the advances in bioplastic packaging with regard to active packaging applications and applications requiring gas and water barrier. RESULTS: The review shows that antioxidant and antimicrobial functions are major developments for the control-release application in bioplastic packaging. Factors affecting the release of active ingredients have been reviewed. The sorption of low molecular weight substances such as humidity, aromas, and gases, also affects the properties of packaging materials. Some patents are available for oxygen-scavenging bioplastic packaging. Moreover, improved high-barrier packaging technologies (modified polymer, coating, and lamination) have been developed to increase the shelf-life of food products. CONCLUSION: The finding shows that the development of bioplastic into food packaging included control-release (desorption), scavenging (absorption) and permeation technologies.
This study presents the determination of the transport properties of eucalyptol, which is a key aroma compound in fresh tropical herbs through different polymeric packaging materials. Packaging films used in this study were polyethylene, polypropylene, Nylon, polyethylene terephthalate and polylactide (PLA1 and PLA2). Test films were immersed in the 1000ppm of aroma compound and stored in amber vials. The concentrations of aroma compounds extracted from films were determined using gas chromatography. Diffusion, solubility, permeability and partition coefficients were calculated from sorption kinetics. Results show that the diffusion and solubility coefficients of eucalyptol were lowest in PLA1 and highest in polyethylene. Solubility coefficients were associated with partition coefficients as well as solubility parameters and contact angle values. Primary factor determining solubility was affinity between the aroma compounds and the polymeric films. Transport coefficients of eucalyptol in the vapor phase followed the same trends as in the liquid phase with about 3-fold greater. Understanding interaction phenomenon between the key aroma compound and major packaging films may contribute to improvements in film selection and the design of food packaging applications. Finding from this research contributes toward future development of the high-aroma barrier materials. M t /M∞ M t /M∞ M t /M∞ a Solubility coefficients obtained from immersion study. 21
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