Edible Films and Coatings: Applications of Gelatin Based Edible Coatings on Flesh Foods for Extension of Shelf Life under Cold Storage

Edible films and coatings have recently gained substantial attention from food scientists because of their remarkable potential in food preservation, functionality, and safety. As alternative secondary packaging materials, there are wide-ranging options in organic polymers, which can be used as carrier polymer in edible films and coatings as well as many bioactive ingredients limiting food deterioration and improving food functionality and safety. Although the majority of research in this field is on plant-sourced food products, recent studies focused on the shelf life extension of animal-sourced foods. In this study, some of these recent studies are reviewed and discussed, and in addition, some of the results from our laboratory are presented. In our studies so far; meatballs, surimi from pearl mullet in addition to pearl mullet and rainbow trout fillets were treated by gelatin-based edible coatings in different formulations to investigate the shelf life of these flesh foods under cold storage. Surimi and pearl mullet fillets were coated by a gelatin-chitosan formulation incorporated with rosemary extract and oil, separately, while rainbow trout fillets and meatballs were coated by a solely gelatin formulation incorporated with ascorbic acid and potassium sorbate as antioxidant and antimicrobial agents, respectively. Our results and many other studies in this field evidently concluded that edible films and coatings present opportunities for both food scientists and manufacturers for safer, durable and convenient food products. On the other hand, formulation of edible films and coatings as well as possible use of different active ingredients should be further investigated.

کلیدواژه ها:

Edible film ، Edible coating ، Gelatin ، Flesh food ، Surimi ، Shelf life