Digestibility and Toxicology of Edible Films and Coatings

Abstract

The research area of edible lms and coatings has received a great interest in recent years due to an increased consumer concern in health, nutrition, food safety, and environmental issues. The main advantage of edible coatings and lms over traditional synthetics is that they can be consumed with food. A variety of active compounds can be incorporated in edible lms, and therefore, they can be used both as an active packaging and as a vehicle to deliver compounds, which may exert potential benecial effects in the organism when they are consumed. In this case, the active compounds should be released during digestion to be available for absorption. Although the edible coatings and lms are developed by selecting diverse natural-based substances that are expected to be safe, it is essential to know if the stability and bioactivity of the functional ingredients will be affected by the gastrointestinal conditions. However, only a few reports deal with their digestibility and the residual activity of the active compounds incorporated to them after digestion. In addition, possible transformations, during or after manufacture and digestion, may convert them into toxic substances for the human. Furthermore, nanomaterials used for creating new coatings and lms with improved physical, chemical, and biological properties have encouraged global concern regarding their effect in biological system, at the same time demanding parallel risk-assessment studies.