Harnessing polysaccharides for sustainable food packaging

Abstract This review provides a comprehensive analysis of food packaging techniques, focusing on the limitations of conventional methods and the promising potential of polysaccharide-based materials as sustainable alternatives. Traditional packaging materials, such as plastics, glass, metal, and paper, pose significant environmental risks due to their non-biodegradable nature. In contrast, polysaccharide-based materials, derived from renewable sources, are biodegradable and offer enhanced food preservation properties. These materials boast several advantages, including biodegradability, renewability, and superior physical attributes such as excellent barrier properties and mechanical strength. The review also delves into transformation techniques aimed at improving the effectiveness of polysaccharide-based materials. These include physical and chemical modifications to optimize their performance. Furthermore, a detailed categorization of polysaccharides is provided based on their origin, encompassing animal-derived polysaccharides (chitin, chitosan), plant-derived polysaccharides (cellulose, starch, pectin, gum arabic, guar gum, tragacanth gum, locust bean gum), marine-derived polysaccharides (alginate, agar, carrageenan), and microbial-derived polysaccharides (pullulan, xanthan gum, dextran, bacterial cellulose). Additionally, we explore case studies highlighting the practical applications and performances of these materials in the food packaging industry.