Starch films: production, properties and potential of utilization

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in the utilization of renewable resources for the production of food packaging. Among the biopolymers, starches from several sources have been considered as one of the most promising material for this purpose, and the reasons for this are that starches are biodegradable, are inexpensive and available in the worldwide. This work presents a bibliography review about biodegradable starch films characterization and potential of utilization. Discusses the starch films mechanical and barrier properties, the cristallinity and the effects of the use of plasticizers over these properties. The discussed informations indicate that exist great possibilities for these materials in food packaging, which depend on the production of more stable materials and the development of production technology in industrial scale.