Perspectives of bio-nanocomposites for food packaging applications

There is an increasing concern on the environmental issues related to petroleum-based plastics as packaging materials. Therefore, the interest for biodegradable packaging materials from renewable sources (biopolymers) has been increased steadily, particularly for the utilization in short-term packaging and throwaway applications. However, biopolymers have usually low barrier and mechanical characteristics with poor processability resulting in limitations for their scalable production and industrial use. To overcome these limitations, bio-nanocomposites with enhanced packaging characteristics such as mechanical strength, barrier properties against gases and water, and optical clarity have been developed. Moreover, bioactive ingredients can be added to give the targeted functional properties to the subsequent packaging materials. This chapter reviews distinctive sorts of new biobased nanocomposite materials, for example, biodegradable and edible nanocomposite films, and their commercial applications as packaging materials, and relevant regulations.