The Study of Increasing Shelf-Life of Meat by Using Nanocellulose-Chitosan Composite Film Obtained from Agricultural By-Products

Abstract

Background: This research was conducted to design a bionanocomposite film for meat packaging with regard to environmental aspects. Methods: Cellulose nanoparticles (CNPs) were used as nano-reinforcing factors were generated using non-edible agricultural by-products. The bionanocomposite film which was recently developed contains CNPs and chitosan (CS); then, the nanocomposites were explored via SEM, FTIR, agar disc diffusion tests and X-ray crystallography (XRD). Finally, the film was used to pack meat pieces. Results: Investigation of the morphological and physical reports of the solid films indicated that the CNPs are well scattered in bionanocomposite film. The addition of CNPs within a CS improved Young’s modulus by about 12135% and the tensile strength by 583%. In addition, XRD photographs indicated that CNP peak appeared after being added to CS context. Antimicrobial activity demonstrated that nanocomposites exerted restrictive effect on Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Using CS-nanocellulose composite as a packing film on meat surface leads to decreasing bacteria growth compared to nylon packing materials at 4˚C after 8 days of storage. Conclusion: Findings indicated that the recently designed CNP-CS films are a better replacement for common food packaging substances.

Keywords

• biodegradable plastics
• chitosan
• cellulose
• food packaging
• nanoparticles
• nanocomposites
• meat
• waste products