Production and characterization of chicken gelatin/chitosan based edible packaging film with thyme oil

In recent years, the food packaging business has been more interested in producing packaging materials that are edible, biodegradable and enviromentally safe as opposed to plastic packaging materials made from petroleum. Concerns about the environment in particular speed up the search for this topic. Various biopolymer materials can be used in the production of edible films. The aim of this thesis study was to create a sustainable, edible food packaging by utilizing thyme oil, chitosan and chicken gelatin derived from poultry industry waste. Two different film making techniques (composite and bilayer) were employed in this study and four distinct films were produced with and without thyme oil. The impact of the production process and thyme oil the characteristics of the films were assessed. Cafeic acid and routine, which are natural crosslinkers, were used to improve the physical properties of gelatin. The effects of a combination of chicken gelatin, chitosan and thyme oil on the film characteristics such as thickness, moisture content, opacity, color, water vapor permeability, water solubility, microstructure and food preservation were assessed in this study. Consequently, in this study, it was found that the application of thyme oil raised the water solubility and film thickness values. In terms of water vapor permeability, it was determined that composite film samples were more permeable than bilayer samples. Bilayer films were found to exhibit more weight loss than composite films when the weight loss data were compared during the storage period.