Resumo

FONTE, Pamela; MACHADO, Bárbara  e  REAL, Helena. EDIBLE PACKAGING: APPLICATION, IMPACT ON FOOD SAFETY AND ACCEPTABILITY. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2021, n.25, pp.76-82.  Epub 05-Nov-2021. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2021.2514.

Plastic is commonly used for the development of food packaging, however the growing concern with its non-biodegradable and accumulative nature in ecosystems, has led to the development of more sustainable alternatives.

The purpose of this review article is to characterize the environmental and technological impact of edible food packaging, their applicability, the type of raw materials used, the possible implications for food safety, as well as exploring the acceptability of consumers and the food industry.

This research was conducted in the databases “Science Direct”, “PubMed” and “Google Scholar” using “edible”, “food”, “packaging”, “film” and “coating” as keywords. From the mentioned source, 56 articles, from 2015 to 2021, were selected for this review.

The materials used to produce edible films and coatings are generally biomolecules and must be selected considering both their main characteristics and the type of food to be packaged. In addition, these materials should not pose any risk to human health. Regardless, edible packaging may contain allergens, thus the ingredients used in the preparation of these packaging must be listed. The application of different films and coatings, in a variety of foods, has been shown to increase the shelf life of foodstuffs. The acceptability of edible packaging by the consumer depends on several factors, such as functional and organoleptic properties, food marketing and prices. The production of edible films and coatings occurs mostly on a laboratory scale, so there are some limitations to overcome, in order to guarantee the success of these innovations on a commercial scale. According to the previous established aim, it was possible to explore the proposed concepts and themes.

Palavras-chave : Edible food packaging; Film; Coating; Food safety.

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