Recent advances in thermoplastic starches for food packaging: A review

Increasing concerns about exhausting the natural resources and growing global environmental issues caused by petro-based materials have resulted in the emergence of biopolymer-based materials for food packaging. Starch is a sustainable, eco-friendly, and inexpensive biopolymer and could be a promising approach to produce bio-composites. Starch-based films possess low mechanical and tensile strength, which limits starch application in the packaging industry. However, the intermolecular forces and hydrogen bonds in starch resist being processed as a thermoplastic material. To overcome this issue, different plasticizers are used to have deformable thermoplastic material called thermoplastic starches. Thermoplastic starch (TPS), a starch derivative, is considered a suitable candidate for substituting synthetic polymers used for packaging. However, TPS has drawbacks, including hygroscopic nature, low gas permeability, and inadequate water barrier characteristics. The literature overview indicates that the TPS properties can be improved by starch modification, adding reinforcements, and blending with other polymers. It is noteworthy to systematically compare the effect of various modifiers on TPS to find the best packaging material. This review provides the latest advances in TPS-based biodegradable packaging and food applications.