Casein and chitosan polymers: use in antimicrobial packaging

A.G. PONCE; , S.I. ROURA,; M.R. MOREIRA

ANTIMICROBIAL FOOD PACKAGING

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2016; p. 455 - 466

Minimal processing operations alter the integrity of fruits and vegetables bringing about negative effects on quality. Also, the presence of microorganisms on the surface may compromise the food safety. Traditionally, edible coatings have been used as a strategy to reduce the deleterious effects that minimal processing imposes on intact vegetable tissues. Biologically active molecules such as chitosan and edible coating from milk protein have a significant potential in view of contaminations associated with food and the increasing concerns in relation with the negative environmental impact of conventional packaging materials. The protein-polysaccharide complexes could exhibit better functional properties respect to proteins and polysaccharides alone. The aim of this work is to summarize the most important information on chitosan and casein film from its bioactivity point of view and to highlight their potential for food preservation technology