A Review of the Fruit and Plant Processing Waste Usage for the Production of Food Films and Coatings in the Packaging Industry

Packaging is involved in achieving safety goals and preventing food waste. Due to the increasing bio environmental warnings, today the focus is on the search for biodegradable and environmentally friendly food films under the title of food films and coatings.  As edible coatings and films are natural, environmentally friendly and degradable products, they can be good alternative for the synthetic packaging. In addition, the main advantage of these packages is their use as carriers of food additives such as flavorings, antimicrobials, antioxidants, enzymes and dyes.  Also, due to their preventive and inhibitory properties, food coatings and films reduce or inhibit the growth of microorganisms and therefore can maintain the quality of food and thus increase the shelf life of the product. Food processing has become a serious risk and challenge for the environment due to the poor management of waste from lateral flows and due to the non-utilization of waste. The by-products have not yet received enough attention because of their richness in some valuable compounds. This review paper has investigated the edible films and coatings produced from some wastes of the fruits' peels and plants, and their characteristics.