Lipid-based Food Preservation Solution

Due to their unique hydrophobicity and permeability, lipids have become ideal film matrices to replace traditional plastics. Aprofood deeply explores the development of bio-based food preservation materials, and is committed to providing global customers with a full range of lipid-based film food preservation solutions.

History of Lipid Films in Food Preservation

Wax has been used in China to reduce dehydration of citrus since the 12th century. Meat coats have been used since the 16th century, covering the meat with fat to prevent shrinkage. Since the 1930s, latex paint has been applied to fruit to improve its appearance, such as color, softening, carry fungicides, and better control moisture loss. The use of edible films to extend the shelf life of foods dates to the 1950s and included the use of alginate films, fats, gum and starch to coat frozen meat, seafood and poultry. Carnauba wax oil-in-water emulsions have been used to coat fruits and vegetables for the past few decades. Until 1967, edible films had little commercial use, and they were mostly limited to waxy coatings on fruits, but trade in edible films has grown significantly during this period.

Advantages of Edible Films

Reduces weight loss and respiration rate, thereby improving food shrinkage; prevents microbial penetration and growth on food surfaces; retards spoilage and plasticization of fruits and vegetables during storage; prevents moisture absorption or dehydration of low-moisture foods and its negative consequences; prevents enzymatic and non-enzymatic browning of food; reducing nutrient deficiencies in unwanted reactions such as oxidative and browning reactions; reducing excessive oil absorption by product tissue, significantly reducing excessive moisture removal during frying; reducing synthetic packaging materials use.

Fig. 1 Typical procedures to form films and coatings. (Azeredo, et al., 2022)

Our Solutions

With years of in-depth exploration in the field of biological substrates and innovative discoveries in the food industry, Aprofood is committed to providing global customers with comprehensive food preservation solutions based on lipid film.

• Lipid-based Film Development

• Exclusively customize the lipid film development strategy according to the customer's product characteristics. Our lipid matrices include but are not limited to:

  Oil, Fat, Shortening, Margarine	Animal and vegetable native oil and fats (Peanut, coconut, palm, palm kernel oil, cocoa, milk butter, lard, tallow, etc.)
  	Fractionated, concentrated or reconstituted oils and fats (fatty acids, mono, di, and triglycerides, cocoa butter substitute, etc.)
  	Hydrogenated or trans esterified oil (margarine, shortening, etc.)
  Waxes	Natural vegetable waxes: candelilla, carnauba, Jojoba
  	Natural animal waxes: Bees, whales
  	Nonnatural waxes: Paraffin, mineral, microcrystalline, oxidized or nonoxidized polyethylene
  Natural Resins	Asafoetida, Benjoin, Chicle, Guarana, Myrrhe, Olibanum(incense), Opoponax, Sandaraque, Styrax (Turkey) resins
  Essential Oils and Liquorices	Camphor, mint and citrus fruit essential oils Liquorices and pure glycyrrhizin
  Emulsifiers and Surface-active Agents	Lecithins, mono and diglycerides, mono and diglyceride esters
  	Fatty sucrose esters, fatty alcohols, fatty acids

• Monofunctional compounds that form polymer matrices may not be sufficient to provide all required properties, so we offer the development of complex lipid films covering a variety of biological matrices as well as functional components.

• Evaluation of lipid-based Film

• The comprehensive evaluation of lipid-based films includes the analysis of the physicochemical properties of the film; the effects of composite components on its mechanical properties, stability and barrier properties; the analysis of the interaction between functional components and the matrix; the evaluation of the preservation efficacy of biofilms, etc.

Our Advantages

Rich experience and professional team

Comprehensive verification and optimization

Choice diversity and customization

Controllable project development process

Aprofood is committed to providing extensive support to global customers in food preservation related research. Our professionals can provide you with comprehensive food preservation solutions based on lipid films. Please contact us for more possibilities of your project!

References

1. Azeredo, H., Otoni, C. G., & Mattoso, L. (2022). Edible films and coatings-Not just packaging materials. Current research in food science, 5, 1590–1595.
2. Milani, J.M., Nemati, A. Lipid-Based Edible Films and Coatings: A Review of Recent Advances and Applications. (2022). Journal of Packaging Technology and Research, 6, 11–22.