Biofilms-based Food Preservation Solutions
Bio-based materials (proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids) are widely used in the food industry, especially in the development of edible films and coatings for food preservation. Aprofood has conducted in-depth exploration in the field of bio-based materials and is committed to providing global customers with a full range of food preservation solutions based on various biofilms.
Overview of Biofilms
Food is an essential product for human existence, and over time, consumers' focus on quality is on the rise. Edible films and coatings are thin layers applied to food to protect and improve food quality. Films/coatings are made from natural renewable resources (polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and complexes) that we eat without processing. These films are environmentally friendly and contain antioxidants, anti-browning agents and colorants.
Coatings are applied to food materials using various methods (spraying, brushing, electrospraying) to protect them from microbial growth, extend their shelf life, and improve other quality aspects such as sensory attributes, appearance, creativity and freshness of ingredients Spend. In addition to the edible film, some special additives, such as glycerin, sorbitol, etc., are used to improve the efficiency of the edible film and coating. The chemistry and properties of these films and coatings vary by hydrophilic and hydrophobic boundaries, covering the entire food range.
Fig. 1 Typical procedures to form films and coatings. (Azeredo, et al., 2022)
Our Solutions
Edible films and coatings based on biological matrices are one of the important strategies for food preservation. With extensive experience and expertise, Aprofood provides global customers with food preservation solutions based on a variety of biofilms.
Polysaccharide-based Food Preservation Solution
Polysaccharides are naturally occurring polymers widely used in the preparation of edible films or coatings, including starch, cellulose, pectin, sodium alginate, and chitosan, etc. Due to the ordered hydrogen-bonding network shape of polysaccharides, it is mainly used to develop effective oxygen-barrier coatings. The polysaccharide coating is colorless, has an oil-free appearance, and is low in calories, extending the shelf life of fruit, vegetable, shellfish or meat products by significantly reducing dehydration, surface blackening and oxidative rancidity.
Protein-based Food Preservation Solution
Proteins usually exist in the form of fibrin or globular proteins. Typically, denaturation of proteins is accomplished using acids, bases, solvents, and heat to create the additional elongation systems required to form membranes. Once elongated, protein chains are joined by hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, and covalent bonds. Chain-to-chain interactions determine the strength of the edible film, with higher interactions making the film stronger but less permeable to vapors, liquids and gases. Therefore, protein-based films or coatings are efficient oxygen blockers even at low relative humidity (RH).
Lipid-based Food Preservation Solution
Lipids are an excellent barrier against moisture migration. Lipids mixed with proteins and polysaccharides can produce composite coatings with higher mechanical and barrier properties, with better moisture permeability than pure lipid films. Due to the low polarity of lipid films and coatings, they can effectively prevent moisture transfer, but due to the hydrophobicity of lipids, films or coatings made from lipids are very brittle and thick, and hydrophobic with increasing phase concentration, the water vapor permeability is reduced.
Citric Acid Coated Food Preservation Solution
Coated film preservation is formed by the semi-permeable film by covering the micropores on the surface of fruits and vegetables, and partially infiltrating into the skin to reduce the pores of the outer skin, inhibit the respiration and transpiration of fruits and vegetables, during storage to delay the rate of loss of fruits and vegetables, hardness, cell membrane permeability, and malondialdehyde content of the changes in fruits and vegetables, and greatly extend the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables.
Aprofood is committed to providing customers around the world with extensive support for food preservation related research. We focus on the development of food preservation solutions based on biofilms. Please contact us to learn more about our biofilms-based food preservative solutions!
References
- Azeredo, H., Otoni, C. G., & Mattoso, L. (2022). Edible films and coatings-Not just packaging materials. Current research in food science, 5, 1590–1595.
- Hassan, B., Chatha, S., Hussain, A. I., Zia, K. M., & Akhtar, N. (2018). Recent advances on polysaccharides, lipids and protein based edible films and coatings: A review. International journal of biological macromolecules, 109, 1095–1107.
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