Food Biopackaging for Human Benefits: Status and Perspectives

Food products are usually obtained from plant and animal origin, helping humans to provide essential nutrients. Every living organism’s cell responds to assimilated foods to generate energy, stimulate growth, and maintain wellbeing. But food comes with specific shelf life and hence requires proper preservation to retain its quality and properties for an extended period of use. The food packaging materials and structure are essential for food quality and customer safety. Many contemporary packaging techniques are used to meet the requirements of agricultural product exports and increased competition in the food industry. Many packaging issues are raised due to irrational implementation of the materials and other resources, which seriously impact the environment and human health. The increase in resistance to the microbes attacking food products during storage and low competitiveness among the food packaging materials have induced significant issues of inadequate packaging, which must be addressed by food biopackaging techniques. Biopack contains edible film, edible coatings, and primary and secondary packaging materials. Many edible packaging materials are prepared with synthetic polymers inducing negative environmental impacts to limit their applications. The utilisation of the digital logistic system significantly contributes to food preservation but requires skilled personnel and demands high-cost operation. The biodegradable components used to make the edible ingredients, such as starch, cellulose, whey, gluten, or biobased monomers of polylactic acids, are easily acquired from natural sources. These products ensure food safety and can recycle tensile properties and physiochemical qualities for human benefit. This review summarises manufacturing operations, essential properties, raw materials, and regulations by concerned authorities for the practical application of biopackaging materials. It will help researchers in this domain to work on more efficient biopackaging material as a true panacea for food preservation in the near future.