New Concept in Packaging: Milk Protein Edible Films

Ready to eat and perishable foods need specific precautions for packaging. The main mission of food packaging is widely used for preservation of food quality, to expand the shelf-life by inhibiting oxygen, light, moisture, and ensure microbial safety for consumers. The packaging industries are studying on renewable, environmentally-friendly and biodegradable alternatives to take the place of petroleum-based packaging materials. The packaging plays an essential function in communication system of content, product differentiation and branding. Appropriate and efficient packaging such as edible films and coatings, forestall of contamination facilitates storage and transportation by averting moisture loss, solute transport, aromas loss, water absorption in the food. There is a rising interest in recent years, in a form of active packaging by proteins, lipids, polysaccharides or combinations of these. Edible films serve as a functional barrier between food and its environment, guaranteeing the safety of foodstuffs. While the oxygen barrier of casein-based films is high, whey protein films have good water vapor and oxygen permeability. Addition of plasticizers to protein-based film formulations are required to reduce film fragility and moisture barrier ability, to give specific plastic properties, to enhance processability, protraction and water vapor permeability of protein films. In this chapter, the principal functions and properties of milk protein edible films in packaging industries are summarized.