ABSTRACT
FOODS must be preserved to maintain their initial qualities and properties byprotecting them from the surrounding environment and by limiting loss of some of their components. Food satisfies the biological need for a source of nutrition, but it is its flavor and aroma that provide the impetus to the consumer. Packaging reduces the transfer of gases, vapors, liquids, and solids between the food and its environment, thus extending food shelf life. Migration of moisture, oxygen, or various solutes, including aroma compounds, can occur, inducing deleterious changes in sensory, nutritional, microbiological, and/or physicochemical characteristics of food. Loss of volatile compounds diminishes flavor intensity, thus changing the aromatic note of the food product. Moreover, absorbed off-flavors permeating through packaging from the environment can modify sensory characteristics of the food. Finally, solvents, monomers, or residues originating from package (mainly plastics) manufacturing may come in contact with the packaged food. For these reasons, food processors reduce or control interactions and transfers of small volatile molecules by using appropriate multi-layered packaging films (Mohney et al., 1988). Such films are usually highly efficient, but they also are expensive and often non-recyclable. Therefore, the potential use of biodegradable or edible films and coatings to improve the aroma barrier ability of cheaper plastics or to retain aromas within foods has been receiving interest.
