Electrospining Machine: Electrostatic Spinning Meets Food Packaging: New Opportunities for Food Preservation

Background

Electrostatic spinning is used to fabricate submicron or nanoscale polymer fibers, which is a versatile and cost-effective method.Recently, Prof. Erzheng Su and others from Nanjing Forestry University published a review summarizing the research of electrospinning machine technology in food packaging. They also outlined the various types and influencing factors of electrostatic spinning, as well as its various applications in food packaging. The research results were published in the journal Food Packaging and Packaging Technology under the title “Electrospinning meets food packaging: A promising pathway towards novel opportunities in food preservation”. Published in the journal “Food Packaging and Shelf Life”.

The main points of this paper

1.This paper outlines the various types of electrospinning and the factors that influence it.

2.Introduces the various applications of electrospinning machine technology in food packaging, including smart packaging, antimicrobial packaging, antioxidant packaging, and high temperature/high humidity tolerant packaging.

3.The limitations of electrospinning are discussed and future research directions are proposed

Electrospinning machine technology offers many advantages in food packaging, including

1. Mild processing conditions: electrospinning can be carried out under mild conditions that do not affect the activity of the load material, while enabling targeted release at specific sites.

2. Customizability: By changing the nature of the solution and the process parameters, different material forms, such as high viscosity, brittleness and adhesion, can be achieved to meet a variety of needs.

3. Versatility: electrospun materials can have properties such as antimicrobial and antioxidant, as well as high temperature and high humidity resistance, making them suitable for a variety of food packaging applications.

Overall, electrospinning has great potential for innovation and a wide range of applications in the food packaging industry, providing new ways and methods for the development of food packaging materials

Key findings and insights from this paper include:

In the last few decades, electrospinning machine technology has gained significant attention in the field of food science for its unique and innovative applications. In this review, the authors comprehensively summarize the electrostatically spun packaging technology and its different uses in the field of food packaging. Electrostatically spun nanofibers have emerged as a highly efficient solution for improving food safety, extending shelf life and reducing waste in all forms of food packaging. These Electrospun Nanofbers have been used as packaging for antimicrobial, antioxidant, high temperature, high humidity resistance and more recently as a medium for intelligent visual monitoring of food quality.

Despite its potential, the implementation of electrostatic spinning in the food industry faces significant safety and regulatory hurdles that require extensive research to address. In the future, researchers could explore electrostatic spinning materials with new structures and functionalities in the food industry. Future work will focus on utilizing these properties and previous achievements to expand the application of electrostatic spinning technology and integrate a multidisciplinary approach to develop more desirable food packaging materials, ultimately aimed at preserving food and reducing waste

Originallink: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fpsl.2023.101234