Active Casein Coatings and Films for Perishable Foods: Structural Properties and Shelf-Life Extension

There is an urgent need to increase the food supplies to fulfil the demands of future generations as the population of the world is expected to grow beyond 10 billion by 2050. An essential component for ensuring global food security is to reduce food losses during the post-harvest stage. Active edible coatings and films are a promising sustainable preservation technology for shelf-life extension of food products by hindering decay kinetics of minimally processed fruits and vegetables (F&V), by restricting the mass transfer of moisture, aroma, or gases and carrying an active compound, such as an antioxidant or antimicrobial. Active protein-based coatings and films have the potential to extend the shelf-life of food products by decreasing their respiration rates, as they exhibit an excellent gas barrier and good mechanical properties as compared to other biopolymeric packaging. Among protein-based biopolymers, casein and its derivatives as packaging films have been extensively studied due to their low cost, complete biodegradability, and availability. Currently, there is no review study focusing on caseinate-based active coating and film, thus, this review aims to give insights on the composition, rheology, structure, and properties of caseinate-based formulations by critically discussing the results presented in the literature. A methodological approach was followed to obtain relevant literature to discuss the influence of additives on the shelf-life of F&V. Furthermore, changes in secondary structure of casein were observed after incorporation of bioactive compounds (i.e., phenolic acids). Likewise, there is a need to explore chemical interactions among bioactive compounds and biopolymer material by using in silico and laboratory trials as food additives have shown to influence the physicochemical properties of film and shelf-life of food products.

Automated summary

The urgent need to increase food supplies in anticipation of a growing global population has led to the development of active edible coatings and films as a promising technology for extending the shelf life of food products. Among these technologies, protein-based coatings, particularly those derived from casein, have shown potential in reducing respiration rates and enhancing gas barrier properties. Further research is needed to explore the interactions between bioactive compounds and biopolymer materials to optimize the physicochemical properties of food packaging.