ABSTRACT
Due to the development of technology and people’s changing lifestyles, the use of ready-to-eat foods is increasing day-to-day. Therefore, maintaining nutritional value and quality and freshness of food is of particular importance. One way to preserve the quality and freshness of food is to pack them. This has led to increase in the use of petroleum polymers in the packaging industry, especially food packaging. Various polymers such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, poly terephthalate, etc. are widely produced and are used in the packaging industries. Contaminations that are created by synthetic plastics, known as white contamination, comprise the main portion of the world's environmental pollution. Concerns about environmental contamination by industrial polymers led to researchers being prompted to investigate and produce natural polymers. The main aim is to use the natural polymers rather than petroleum polymers. This chapter examines the chemical structure of biopolymers, various research studies on the use of biodegradable packaging and their applications in the food industry.
