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The ideal food packaging materials are recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable. Starch from plant sources, such as tubers, legumes, cereals, and agro-industrial plant residues, is considered one of the most suitable biopolymers for producing biodegradable films due to its natural abundance and low cost. The chemical modification of starch makes it possible to produce films with better technological properties by changing the functional groups into starch. Using biopolymers extracted from agro-industrial waste can add value to a raw material that would otherwise be discarded. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has driven a rise in demand for single-use plastics, intensifying pressure on this already out-of-control issue. This review provides an overview of biopolymers, with a particular focus on starch, to develop sustainable materials for food packaging. This study summarizes the methods and provides a potential approach to starch modification for improving the mechanical and barrier properties of starch-based films. This review also updates some trends pointed out by the food packaging sector in the last years, considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perspectives to achieve more sustainable food packaging toward a more circular economy are drawn.

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Ginger is known for its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. Its bioactive compounds can benefit foods and active packaging formulations by extending shelf life, enhancing safety, and providing health benefits to consumers. In ginger, sesquiterpenes and phenolic compounds are the main bioactives, and drying and extraction processes directly affect them. This influence can have desirable or undesirable effects on the composition, activity, and concentration. So, it is crucial to carefully define these operations to avoid losses and enable selective extraction, resulting in tailored compositions without requiring additional steps. Considering this a field to explore, the effects of combined emergent drying and extraction technologies on ginger were investigated. Vacuum microwave drying (VMD), ultrasound (UAE) (20 or 80 oC), and microwave extraction (ME) were evaluated. Drying kinetics, powder color, extract composition, and antioxidant activity were studied. While ME demonstrated high efficiency in preserving the original compounds of fresh ginger, VMD combined with UAE (20°C) produced extracts with the highest concentration of phenolic compounds (387.6 mg.GAE/g) and antioxidant activity (2100.7 mmol.Trolox/mL) and had a low impact in the main sesquiterpenes. VMD generated shogaols by its controlled high temperatures and facilitated extracting bioactives by destroying cellular structures and forming pores. UAE extracted these compounds selectively, released them from cell structures, and reduced losses caused by volatilization and thermal degradation compared to conventional methods. These findings have significant implications, as they provide an opportunity to obtain ginger extracts with tailored compositions that can enhance the formulation of food products, active food packaging, and health-related products.