Smart film of jackfruit seed starch as a potential indicator of fish freshness

Innovations in Food Packaging for a Sustainable and Circular Economy

Packaging is fundamental to maintaining the quality of food, but its contribution with a negative footprint to the environment must be completely changed worldwide to reduce pollution and climate change. Innovative and sustainable packaging and new strategies of reutilization are necessary to reduce plastic waste accumulation, maintain food quality and safety, and reduce food losses and waste. The purpose of this chapter is to present innovations in food packaging for a sustainable and circular economy. First, to present the eco-design packaging approach as well as new strategies for recycled or recyclable materials in food packaging. Second, to show current trends in new packaging materials developed from the use of agro-industrial wastes as well as new methods of production, including 3D/4D printing, electrostatic spinning, and the use of nanomaterials.

Fabrication of green colorimetric smart packaging based on basil seed gum/chitosan/red cabbage anthocyanin for real-time monitoring of fish freshness

Novel green intelligent films based on basil seed gum (BSG)/chitosan containing red cabbage extract (RCA) (0, 2.5, 5, and 10, % (v/v)) as a colorimetric indicator for food freshness detection were fabricated by casting method. The physicochemical, barrier, mechanical, and antioxidant characteristics, as well as sensitivity to pH and ammonia gas of smart edible packaging films, were investigated. The interaction of anthocyanin extract as a natural dye with biopolymers in films characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and SEM images revealed their suitable compatibility. The film with maximum anthocyanin content (10% (v/v)) appeared robust color changes against various pH and ammonia gas levels. The color of indicator films when exposed to alkaline, neutral and acidic buffers are indicated with green, blue, and red colors, respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging activity of smart BSG/chitosan films improved from 23% to 90.32% with increasing RCA content from 2.5 to 10% (v/v). Generally, the incorporation of RCA in film structure enhanced their solubility, WVP, ΔE, turbidity, and flexibility, and reduced tensile strength. The observations successfully confirmed the efficacy of pH-sensitive indicator smart film based on BSG/chitosan for evaluation of fish spoilage during storage.

Recent trends in nanocomposite packaging films utilising waste generated biopolymers: Industrial symbiosis and its implication in sustainability

Uncontrolled waste generation and management difficulties are causing chaos in the ecosystem. Although it is vital to ease environmental pressures, right now there is no such practical strategy available for the treatment or utilisation of waste material. Because the Earth's resources are limited, a long-term, sustainable, and sensible solution is necessary. Currently waste material has drawn a lot of attention as a renewable resource. Utilisation of residual biomass leftovers appears as a green and sustainable approach to lessen the waste burden on Earth while meeting the demand for bio-based goods. Several biopolymers are available from renewable waste sources that have the potential to be used in a variety of industries for a wide range of applications. Natural and synthetic biopolymers have significant advantages over petroleum-based polymers in terms of cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and user-friendliness. Using waste as a raw material through industrial symbiosis should be taken into account as one of the strategies to achieve more economic and environmental value through inter-firm collaboration on the path to a near-zero waste society. This review extensively explores the different biopolymers which can be extracted from several waste material sources and that further have potential applications in food packaging industries to enhance the shelf life of perishables. This review-based study also provides key insights into the different strategies and techniques that have been developed recently to extract biopolymers from different waste byproducts and their feasibility in practical applications for the food packaging business.

Biopolymers as green-based food packaging materials: A focus on modified and unmodified starch-based films

The ideal food packaging materials are recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable. Starch from plant sources, such as tubers, legumes, cereals, and agro-industrial plant residues, is considered one of the most suitable biopolymers for producing biodegradable films due to its natural abundance and low cost. The chemical modification of starch makes it possible to produce films with better technological properties by changing the functional groups into starch. Using biopolymers extracted from agro-industrial waste can add value to a raw material that would otherwise be discarded. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has driven a rise in demand for single-use plastics, intensifying pressure on this already out-of-control issue. This review provides an overview of biopolymers, with a particular focus on starch, to develop sustainable materials for food packaging. This study summarizes the methods and provides a potential approach to starch modification for improving the mechanical and barrier properties of starch-based films. This review also updates some trends pointed out by the food packaging sector in the last years, considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Perspectives to achieve more sustainable food packaging toward a more circular economy are drawn.

Enhancing the compost maturation of deer manure and corn straw by supplementation via black liquor

In this paper, the relationship between black liquor and microbial growth, enzymatic secretion and humus formation in composting was studied. The results showed that black liquor inoculation is an effective way to promote fermentation process. After black liquor inoculation, the abundance of Corynebacterium, Aequorivita, and Pedobacter, which have the catalase and oxidase activity, has been significantly increased. The enzymatic activity of alkaline phosphatase, catalase, peroxidase and invertase was 40 mg/(g·24h), 6.5 mg/(g·20 min), 13 100 mg/(g·24h), and 6100 mg/(g·24h) respectively at day 18. Humic acid and fulvic acid concentration was 12 g/kg and 11 g/kg which is higher than that of the treatments of no black liquor inoculation. The results suggested that black liquor inoculation was beneficial to indigenous microorganisms reproduce efficiently, then the secretion of enzymes related to cellulose, hemicellulose, and lipid hydrolysis, and the formation of humic substances.

Phytochemicals toward Green (Bio)sensing

Because of numerous inherent and unique characteristics of phytochemicals as bioactive compounds derived from plants, they have been widely used as one of the most interesting nature-based compounds in a myriad of fields. Moreover, a wide variety of phytochemicals offer a plethora of fascinating optical and electrochemical features that pave the way toward their development as optical and electrochemical (bio)sensors for clinical/health diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food quality control, and bioimaging. In the current review, we highlight how phytochemicals have been tailored and used for a wide variety of optical and electrochemical (bio)sensing and bioimaging applications, after classifying and introducing them according to their chemical structures. Finally, the current challenges and future directions/perspective on the optical and electrochemical (bio)sensing applications of phytochemicals are discussed with the goal of further expanding their potential applications in (bio)sensing technology. Regarding the advantageous features of phytochemicals as highly promising and potential biomaterials, we envisage that many of the existing chemical-based (bio)sensors will be replaced by phytochemical-based ones in the near future.