ABSTRACT
Chitin and its deacetylated product chitosan, as well as their derivatives, have found varied applications in agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, chemistry, cosmetics, dentistry, medicine, textiles, veterinary medicine, and environmental sciences. Their food uses cover a wide range of applications, including control of microbial deterioration, inhibition of lipid oxidation, emulsication, thickening, stabilization of color, and as dietary supplements. These benets are derived due to their polyelectrolyte nature and the presence of reactive functional groups that offer gel-forming ability, high adsorption capacity, biodegradability, barrier properties, and bacteriostatic, fungistatic, and physiological advantages. In addition to their renewable and biocompatible nature, other characteristics of chitin and chitosan that make them useful for food applications are their deacetylated amino group reactivity, chelating action, complex formation, and ability to form lms that have excellent barrier properties, as indicated in Table 6.1 (see also Chapter 3). There has been great interest in recent years in the use of chitosan to improve the quality and shelf life of diverse foods (e.g., fruits and vegetables, poultry, and seafood).1-8 This chapter discusses the properties of chitin and chitosan that are relevant to food product development, as well as their applications in various food products. Uses of crustacean polysaccharides for the development of edible lms and their applications for food preservation are discussed in Chapter 9.
