Production and characterization of biopolymer-based composite food packaging

Humanity's search for the correct preservation of food has continued from the past to the present. The usage rates of synthetic-based polymers used as food packaging have decreased due to their toxic effects on the environment, their cost and their inability to be easily obtained, and new product searches have emerged. Natural polymers have suitable properties for the search for new products. Natural polymers, which do not have any toxic effects on the environment thanks to their availability from substances found in nature, can also be obtained through biological means. Starch is a complex carbohydrate polymer produced in large quantities by plants and especially crops (corn, wheat, rice) and is a natural polymer frequently preferred in film production due to its non-toxicity, biodegradability and film-forming properties. Starch was preferred in this study due to these properties it carries. Allspice extract was added to the content of starch-based films at different rates (1%, 3% and 5% by weight) and it was aimed to strengthen the properties of natural polymer films and to provide antibacterial properties to the films. Allspice (Pimenta racemosa) is one of the most well-known spice varieties belonging to the Myrtaceae family. Studies have shown that the aqueous extract of this plant exhibits antimicrobial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, the antibacterial properties, water solubility and swelling properties, water vapor permeability, light transmittance, thickness and density of allspice extract-added starch-based films were examined. Additionally, the structural properties were characterized using FTIR and SEM analyses. The results obtained showed that when the amount of allspice extract in the starch-based polymer films increased, a significant increase was observed in the antibacterial properties, opacity, water vapor permeability, density, solubility and swelling rates of the films compared to films containing pure starch. These results indicate that the allspice extract-added starch-based polymer films produced may have potential for use as food packaging.