Biodegradable Film from Cellulose for Fruit and Vegetable Packaging: A Review of Properties and Prospects

Abstract

It is a major challenge worldwide for quality maintenance and extension of fruits and vegetables shelf life. Fruit and vegetable packaging is very vital for maintaining its quality throughout the post-harvest life. The main materials used for fruit and vegetable packaging are high and low low-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene and polypropylene. The food industry uses plastic material in a large way because of its availability in abundance and for providing good performance at a very low cost. The high consumption of plastics for packaging is creating environmental problems and health hazards. Plastics are non-biodegradable possessing high degree of limitations as their recycling is hindered. Polymers from natural resources exhibit biodegradable quality and they have the potential to develop novel packaging films. Among the natural polymers, cellulose is a material possessing unique properties as a result of which it has immense applications in packaging industry. The preparation methods of the biodegradable packaging film have been reviewed here.  The ingredients of packaging film decide its properties. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength of the films can be improved by adding cellulose with other materials. Cellulose films prepared by blending cellulose with other polymers such as synthetic polymers, natural polymers, proteins, enzymes, metal particles, and plant phenols are also investigated. In the coming days it is envisaged to fabricate good, biodegradable cellulose-based films for packaging of fruits and vegetables.