Polysaccharide-based high barrier food packaging film: design and application

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Food Science
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Food quality degrades due to environmental factors like light, water, oxygen, and microbes during storage and processing.
• Barrier packaging is crucial to protect food from these adverse external influences.
• Polysaccharide macromolecules, with abundant active sites, offer tunable properties for advanced barrier packaging films.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in polysaccharide-based barrier composite films for food packaging.
• To analyze the principles of food packaging barriers and their types.
• To explore the application value of biomass polysaccharides as high-barrier film materials.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature review of polysaccharide-based barrier films.
• Analysis of barrier types, principles, and polysaccharide properties.
• Evaluation of composite film design, preparation, performance, and applications.
• Assessment of polysaccharide strengths, weaknesses, and synergistic effects.

Main Results:

• Polysaccharides like cellulose, starch, chitosan, xylan, sodium alginate, agar, and pullulan are key components in barrier films.
• Composite films enhance barrier properties through synergistic interactions between polysaccharides and other substances.
• Polysaccharide-based films demonstrate significant potential for improving food preservation.

Conclusions:

• Biomass polysaccharides are promising for developing high-barrier food packaging materials.
• Understanding polysaccharide properties and composite synergies is vital for optimizing film performance.
• This review provides theoretical references for future research in biomass polysaccharide-based high-barrier composite films.