ABSTRACT
Environmental, social, and economic concerns related to the availability of petroleum-derived resources and plastic waste management have revived interest in renewable and biodegradable polymers. The durability of conventional plastics, which can be considered as an advantage for some applications, is actually leading to waste disposal problems since these materials are not biodegradable and are usually disposed after only one use, like in the case of food packaging materials. In addition to the disposal, the fabrication of industrial products should also consider sustainability concerns. In this regard, the use of raw materials from renewable resources or valorization of agro-industrial by-products or waste products seems to be the approach toward the manufacture of sustainable films and coatings for food packaging applications. Among those materials, proteins are available as by-products or waste from the food processing industry, showing high potential as raw material. Furthermore, proteins are well-known by their structural complexity, which provides high functional diversity. Therefore, the modification of proteins to obtain films and coating with enhanced functional and technological properties for specific applications, such as active coatings or biodegradable films, is receiving increasing interest 82for both scientists and industries. In addition to protein modification, both processing conditions and methods are the aims of the study, since these are key aspects not only to achieve the desirable properties, but also to be able to produce materials at industrial scale. In this context, this chapter is focused on the films and coatings based on animal and plant proteins, particularly on preparation, characterization, and application of active coatings and biodegradable films for food packaging. A global approach is considered to assess the whole life cycle of the protein-based materials from their origin to their disposal through the manufacture and use processes, taking into account scientific, technical, and environmental aspects involved in the production of these films and coatings.
