Art and Science behind Modified Starch Edible Films and Coatings: A Review

Technological advances have led to increased constraints regarding food packaging, mainly due to environmental issues, consumer health concerns, and economic restrictions associated therewith. Hence, food scientists and technologists are now more focused on developing biopolymer packages. Starch satisfies all the principal aspects making it a promising raw material for edible coatings/films. Modified starch has grabbed much attention, both at the academic as well as at the industrial level, because these films exhibit dramatic improvement in filming properties without involving any significant increase in cost of production. Various methods, additives used, and recent advances in the field of starch film production are discussed in detail in this review, which also provides an overview of the available information along with recent advances in modified starch film packaging.