Technological watch

In the current study, film based on semi-refined ?-carrageenan/cassava starch (SRiC/CS) incorporated with SiO2-ZnO nanoparticles was fabricated and characterized to deal with serious environmental problems resulting from plastic packaging materials. This study aimed to evaluate film properties with the variation of SRiC/CS proportions of bionanocomposite films for application to minced chicken meat packaging. Increasing CS portion contributed to increased transparency, reduced surface roughness, and decreased mechanical properties of films. The variable significantly (p < 0.05) increased the water vapor permeability (WVP) and reduced the water solubility of films. The incorporation of the nanoparticles significantly (p < 0.05) increased UV screening, decreased WVP, and enhanced the antimicrobial activity of films. Furthermore, the substitution of 0.5 wt% (weight percentage) CS provided the best film characteristics. Based on the color and the total volatile base nitrogen (TVBN) results, SRiC film incorporated with the nanoparticles preserved minced chicken quality up to six days. Thus, the developed films are desirable for biodegradable food packaging.