Influence of Glycerol and Tween on Yeast Films Functionalized with Cinnamon and Lavender Essential Oils

Sustainable food packaging solutions replacing the current petroleum-based ones are sparking researchers’ interest in the development of innovative applications. This study developed and characterized an edible film as a food packaging material, based on baker yeast whole cell disrupted by sonication and thermal treatment. Concentrations of glycerol and Tween 80 in the range of 1.00%–1.50% were used for film-forming emulsion, further functionalized with a 2% cinnamon−lavender essential oils mixture (CLEO). The yeast-based film-forming emulsions presented a shear-thinning time-independent pseudoplastic behavior. The flexible, homogenous, brownish yeast films with 1.25% glycerol, 1.25% Tween 80, and 2.00% CLEO retained the highest concentrations of cinnamyl alcohol acetate and eugenol from CLEO during casting, rendering the highest antibacterial effect against Rhodotorula glutinis, Geotrichum expansum, and Bacillus cereus of all tested films. Yeast-based films with 1.00% glycerol, 1.00% Tween, and 2.00% CLEO exhibited a 1.08 MPa Young’s modulus, a 60 MPa tensile strength and the lowest WVP (0.025 × 10−10 g/m·s·Pa), but the lowest transparency of the three tested formulae. Whole baker yeast cells potentially represent a sustainable food packaging material.