Membrana de celulose bacteriana regenerada aplicada em embalagens de alimentos

Abstract

Traditional food packaging has the function of protecting and conserving as much as possible the packaged food against spoilage caused by damage environmental conditions, acting as an inert barrier, enabling its handling, transport and distribution safely and efficiently. To meet consumer demand for products with superior qualities, safer, healthier and with less preservatives, research aimed at improving functional packaging, such as active and intelligent packaging, which prolongs stability and/or indicates the packaged product quality, have been developed. Currently, the plastic packaging is the most used in the world due to its characteristics that include lightness, low cost and high performance, generating a huge volume of polluting solid waste, as a result of the disposal of this material. The development of packaging made of biodegradable materials, from natural sources, such as bacterial cellulose, have been by the need not only to reduce, but also to replace the use of plastic in the packaging of food products. Bacterial cellulose is quite versatile, the incorporation of this biopolymer in the production of nanocomposites for the manufacture of food packaging is a major advance in the search for more sustainable. Bacterial cellulose packaging is water resistant, biodegradable and with the incorporation of additives can present antioxidants and antibacterials. In order to reduce production costs, by-products of the food industry have been studied as alternative sources of substrate seeking to expand the use of bacterial cellulose, which is still limited to high-value niche markets. In the present work, alternatives are presented latest and most sustainable food packaging production employing regenerated bacterial cellulose and its prospects for the future.