Feng Xue
Chen Li
Benu Adhikari- 1School of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
- 2College of Food Science and Light Industry, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, China
- 3School of Science, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Editorial on the Research Topic
Applications of biomacromolecules in emulsion-based edible films
Packaging is an indispensable and important part of the food industry. Packaging can not only extend the shelf life of food, but also ensure its quality and improve its safety (Siddiqui et al., 2023). Every year, more than half of the global plastic is used in the packaging industry. Therefore, food packaging has become the largest plastic consumption sector (Wani et al., 2023). Conventional commodity plastics such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinylchloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), and polyamide (PA) are currently overwhelming used as packaging materials in both rigid and flexible forms (Alfei et al., 2020). Although these plastics offer the best packaging functions, ease of manufacture and are affordable, their inherent non-biodegradable nature is causing unsurmountable pollution of land, water bodies (rivers, lakes, and ocean) and even air (Alizadeh-Sani et al., 2020). Therefore, there has been growing trend to design and fabricate of sustainable packaging materials from bio-based and biodegradable source.
Bio-macromolecules, such as proteins, polysaccharides and lipids, are typically degraded in the environment mainly due to the metabolism of microorganisms. For this reason, exploring/expanding film-forming properties of bio-macromolecules becoming important missions for food packaging. In addition, these bio-macromolecules-based films are also used to prepare active and intelligent packaging due to their interactions with bio-active components (Perera et al., 2023). At present, bio-macromolecules-based films have proved to be effective to increase the stability of a variety of fresh or processed fruits, vegetables, meat and other food products (Liu et al., 2022; Zhao et al., 2023).
Based on the above development trends, this Research Topic mainly focuses on following themes: (1) Recovering bio-macromolecules from natural resources, including their conversion into film-forming ingredients. For example, konjac flour was used to fabricate nanocoating materials to extend the shelf life of Siamese oranges (Suriati). (2) Development of active packaging by combination of bio-macromolecules and bio-active components. For example, beetroot, curcumin, and garlic extracts were incorporated into chitosan-based films to extend the shelf life of chilled tuna filets (Elsabagh et al.). (3) Improvement of food quality by using bio-macromolecules based materials. For example, the powders from apple peel and orange were used to reduce the oil uptakes of falafel balls (Angor); The spray-dried powders from Jamun juice were used to improve the quality of cheese (Shelke et al.). (4) Application of bio-active components in extending shelf life of foods. For example, salicylic acid was used to maintain the quality and enhance the storage life of tomato (Baninaiem and Dastjerdi).
Author contributions
FX: Writing—original draft. CL: Resources, Writing—review & editing. BA: Writing—review & editing.
Funding
The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank the authors and editors for their time and knowledge in contributing to this Research Topic. We hope that these articles can help readers better understand the role of bio-macromolecules in food packaging, and provide reference for the future development of food packaging technology.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher's note
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References
Alfei, S., Marengo, B., and Zuccari, G. (2020). Nanotechnology application in food packaging: a plethora of opportunities versus pending risks assessment and public concerns. Food Res. Int. 137, 109664. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109664
Alizadeh-Sani, M., Mohammadian, E., and McClements, D. J. (2020). Eco-friendly active packaging consisting of nanostructured biopolymer matrix reinforced with TiO2 and essential oil: application for preservation of refrigerated meat. Food Chem. 322, 126782. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126782
Liu, X., Xue, F., Li, C., and Adhikari, B. (2022). Physicochemical properties of films produced using nanoemulsions stabilized by carboxymethyl chitosan-peptide conjugates and application in blueberry preservation. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 202, 26–36. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.12.186
Perera, K. Y., Pradhan, D., Rafferty, A., Jaiswal, A. K., and Jaiswal, S. (2023). A comprehensive review on metal oxide-nanocellulose composites in sustainable active and intelligent food packaging. Food Chem. Adv. 3, 100436. doi: 10.1016/j.focha.2023.100436
Siddiqui, S. A., Khan, S., Mehdizadeh, M., Bahmid, N. A., Adli, D. N., Walker, T. R., et al. (2023). Phytochemicals and bioactive constituents in food packaging - a systematic review. Heliyon 9, e21196. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21196
Wani, N. R., Dar, A. H., Dash, K. K., Pandey, V. K., Srivastava, S., Jan, S. Y., et al. (2023). Recent advances in the production of bionanomaterials for development of sustainable food packaging: a comprehensive review. Environ. Res. 237, 116948. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116948
Keywords: biomacromolecules, edible films, packaging, biodegradable, shelf life
Citation: Xue F, Li C and Adhikari B (2023) Editorial: Applications of biomacromolecules in emulsion-based edible films. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 7:1343663. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1343663
Received: 24 November 2023; Accepted: 04 December 2023;
Published: 12 December 2023.
Edited and reviewed by: José Antonio Teixeira, University of Minho, Portugal
Copyright © 2023 Xue, Li and Adhikari. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Feng Xue, xuefeng@njucm.edu.cn