Abstract

Shelf life of foods is a key component in all parts of food processing from receiving of ingredients to selling at markets. Food must maintain its physical and chemical properties, microbial safety, and sensory characteristics if it is to be successfully sold to consumers. Films have been used in the past to control deterioration of fruit and vegetables, most commonly seen with coatings of edible waxes. Zein, a prolamin protein found in corn, has been used in prior research to create edibles films. Nanoparticles created through anti-solvent precipitation have the possibility to increase the surface area of films, aiding in preservation of foods. Edible films were cast with the use of zein, both in dissolved and nanoparticulated forms, using a mixture design of experiments in different concentrations in conjunction with plasticizer. Films were cast and characterized on their quality and physical characteristics in order to determine the efficacy and quality of nanoparticulated zein compared to typical zein films.

Abstract

Not Available