SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE FOR FOOD PACKAGING: CHITOSAN BIOPOLYMER - A REVIEW

Food packaging technology is continuously evolving in response to growing challenges from a modern society. Active packaging is an innovative approach to enhance the shelf life of food stuffs while improving their quality, safety and integrity. Chitosan is the deacetylated derivative of chitin, which is the second most abundant polysaccharide found in nature after cellulose. Chitosan is nontoxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable and thus is considered as an environmentally friendly packaging material. Moreover, chitosan is a good inhibitor against the growth of a wide variety of yeasts, fungi and bacteria, and also displays gas and aroma barrier properties in dry conditions. Along with these characteristics, its ease for film formation, make chitosan an interesting choice for active antimicrobial food packaging applications. This study aims to present a literature review regarding chitin and chitosan biopolymers, their properties and the ability to be used in applications in food packaging industry.