Polysaccharide-based edible films — strategies to minimize water vapor permeability

Abstract

With increasing focus on sustainability, there has been a growth in the development of edible films to improve food quality, particularly with polysaccharides, as they exhibit desirable properties, including functional diversity and efficient oxygen and carbon dioxide barriers. However, high water vapor permeability (WVP) still limits their applications as film material. While a number of studies have reported the WVP values of various polysaccharide-based films (PBFs), there is a lack of cohesive insights that could help formulate the approach to reduce WVP of these films. This review highlights reported strategies to reduce WVP in edible polysaccharide films, while comparing their efficacy, and discusses the role of relevant properties influencing WVP. Based on the current understanding, the addition of phenolic compounds has been identified as a promising pathway to reduce WVP. More research is required to potentially integrate several methods to reduce WVP, including with lipophilic nanoparticles.