Starch‐Based Films for Food Packaging Applications: A Review on Preparation, Modification, and Emerging Trends Towards a Sustainable Future

ABSTRACT

The increasing awareness of environmental and sustainability issues has led to a surge in demand for eco‐friendly and green alternatives to conventional plastic packaging materials. The use of biopolymers has garnered significant attention, which offers a promising solution for reducing environmental footprints. Among the various biopolymers, starch has the potential to be utilized as an alternative to traditional packaging materials owing to its biodegradability, chemical inertness, low cost, wide availability, and excellent film‐forming ability. However, unlike commercial plastic packaging materials, which possess high tensile strength (TS), flexibility, high barrier properties, and water resistance, starch‐based films encounter several limitations, including low water resistance, inferior mechanical strength, low thermal stability, and poor gas barrier properties. To mitigate these limitations, various modification strategies, such as plasticization, cross‐linking, grafting, blending, and the incorporation of nanofillers, have been applied to enhance the properties of starch‐based films. This review presents various processing techniques for the preparation of starch‐based films and the modification techniques employed to enhance their properties, emphasizing the influence of starch molecular structure, crystallinity, and processing parameters on their functional performance. It further explores the potential uses and the challenges of starch films in food packaging and their ability to prolong the shelf life of food.