1. SMART FOOD FOR THE XXI CENTURY
1
SMART FOOD FOR THE XXI CENTURY
Tono Calabuig Serna, Paula Esteller Cucala, Iris Martínez Rodero
Bioproducts and bioprocesses, ARA-I4 Group Bachelor’s Degree in Biotechnology, Escola Tècnica Superior
d’Enginyieria Agronòmica i del Medi Natural (ETSIAMN). Universitat Politècnica de València. Camino de Vera s/n.
Valencia, E46022, España.
Abstract: The use of modern biotechnology to modify food for human consumption is an
undeniable source of unlimited possibilities. These type of technologies allow the development not
only of the products themselves but also the optimization in their production process. Nutritionally
enhanced crops are undoubtedly a solution to end with worldwide malnutrition as well as to ease
some chronic diseases. Other foods, such as microorganisms or dietetic additives, may be a food
source which provides nutritious, abundant and environmentally friendly products. Moreover,
taking advantage of edible coating in order to preserve food, products can be supplemented with
extra properties. This development may certainly be a solution to many society’s problems, but in
order to do that, it has first to cope with the skepticism that it supposes.
Key words: functional food, rice, gluten, glucomannans, mycoproteins, edible-films, coatings.
INTRODUCTION
The food and drink industry is the largest
manufacturing sector in terms of turnover,
value added and employment in the EU
economy. That is why, since 2008, production
has increased steadily (with 2.6% growth
between 2008 and 2011) compared to 4.2%
drop for the EU manufacturing sector as the
whole during the same period. In order to
maintain this growth, R&D and innovation are
needed, though EU is characterized by lower
investment in R&D than in food and
manufacturing industries elsewhere in the
world. Drivers of that innovation can be
divided into 5 axes, corresponding to general
consumer expectations: pleasure, health,
physical, convenience and ethics, being
pleasure the leading axis and frozen products
as well as dairy products being the leaders of
this innovation (Europe, F.D., 2012).
From what has been previously exposed it can
be deduced that the food and drink industry is
a sector that needs constant development in
order to cover consumer expectations. That is
why today’s foods are not conceived anymore
only to feed humans, but also to prevent
nutrition-related diseases and to improve
physical and mental well-being of the
consumers. In this sense, functional foods
play a key role. Their rising demand is a
consequence of the increase in life
expectancy as well as the growing desire of
more people to improve not only their life
quality but also to become more
environmentally friendly. Although there is
not a well-established definition, the
European Comission’s Concerted Action of
Funcional Food Science in Europe (FuFoSE)
defines functional food as a product that has
beneficial effects on one or more functions in
the human organism. Moreover, according to
one of the classifications that exist, functional
foods can be grouped as fortified products
(with additional nutrients), enriched products
(with new nutrients or components), altered
products (with the removal, decrease or
replacement of a deleterious component with
a beneficial one) and enhanced commodities
(in which a component has been naturally
enhanced) (Kotilainen et al., 2006; Spence,
2006). Functional foods have been developed
in virtually all food categories and from a
product’s perspective, its functional property
can be included in numerous different ways.
Taking into account the great variability that
this field supposes and also the concerns that
arise from genetically modified organisms,
here an attempt to comprise some of the
most interesting examples of food
innovations -from the authors’ point of view-
has been made.
NUTRITIONALLY ENHANCED FOOD
In the last decades, nutritional requirements
demanded by society have evolved due to the

2. 2
fact that people are more concerned about
the direct consequences of diet in human
health as well as in the prevention of chronic
diseases. This change in social perception
about food has been the main cause of the
development of the products known as
functional food, a term that defines every
product which has beneficial effects in human
health apart from basic nutrition. From this
point of view, biotechnology techniques
applied to the agronomical field have
provided solutions for these new
requirements by developing nutritionally
enhanced food in order to fight chronic or
allergic diseases as well as those illnesses
caused by micronutrients deficiencies. These
efforts to obtain new functional plant
varieties are mainly focused on the
supplementation with essential
micronutrients and the elimination of
antinutriens that may contribute to the
development of health diseases (Hefferon,
2015).
The main method used in order to obtain
transgenic plants is Agrobacterium-mediated
transformation. However, Agrobacterium-
mediated transformation method is
restricted to dicot plants. In order to
transform monocot plants microprojectile
bombardment is one of the most used
techniques, as it effectively transforms a wide
range of plants. It is performed by
bombarding plant tissue with microparticles
of gold coated with the DNA construct
containing the gene of interest. This
procedure allows the direct introduction of
the transgene into the cells by forced
penetration (Karimi et al., 2002; Ohadi et al.,
2012).
In this section, two examples of transgenic
vegetal varieties obtained by microprojectile
bombardment are described. In each case the
respective genetic modifications have been
engineered in order to provide functional
characteristics to edible plants.
What gluten intolerants were hoping for.
Gluten-free bread
Noodles, bread and other staple foods
contain gluten, which is a seed storage
protein coming from wheat flours. Seed
storage proteins have some relevant
properties in relation to its usage as food:
high contents of those proteins are
accumulated at certain stages of
development which are found in specific
tissues. Moreover, storage proteins fractions
show genetic variability due to the
polymorphism provided by multigene
families and other posttranscriptional
modifications (Shewry et al., 1995). In the
case of gluten, there are two main types of
proteins that conform this storage protein
fraction: glutenins and gliadins. Glutenins
form polymers that provide flour dough with
strength and elasticity and they are classified
into high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits
and low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits
(Bean and Lookhart, 2001). On the other
hand, gliadins are monomeric proteins that
are thought to confer viscosity and
extensibility to the flour dough. They are
divided into alpha, gamma and omega
gliadins (Vensel et al., 2014).
However, apart from providing flour dough
with specific viscoelastic properties that allow
the production of baked food, gluten is the
cause of the celiac disease. Celiac disease is
an immune pathology of genetic causes that
affects the immune system and provokes
allergic reactions by the exposure to gluten
proteins (Abadie et al., 2011). For celiac
patients, a gluten-free diet has been proved
to be effective in order to avoid most of the
symptoms as gastrointestinal, metabolic
bone disease or infertility. For this reason,
some researches are being developed in order
to stablish how diet influences celiac
symptoms (Lebwohl et al., 2015).
The requirements of gluten-free diets makes
it necessary to develop new functional food
that celiac people can intake, as it is the case
of gluten-free bread. Some alternatives to the
production of bread from wheat have already
been developed: rice, corn, peas, amaranth
and buckwheat fibers are among the raw
materials used to obtain products without
gluten. However, the usage of doughs
without gluten supposes some bakery
problems and quality defects in the final
product (Rahaie et al., 2014). From this

3. SMART FOOD FOR THE XXI CENTURY
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reason, it seems logical that the next goal for
food production is to obtain new varieties of
wheat with reduced amounts of gluten in
their seeds to allow the production of gluten-
free flour dough with proper characteristics.
One of the most used techniques in order to
improve agronomical quality of conventional
crops is the generation of transgenic cultivars
with iRNA technology, which allows the
under-expression of target genes. This gene
silencing mechanism is based on the
introduction by genetic engineering of a DNA
construct with inverted sequence of the
endogenous target gene. When the artificial
construct is transcribed in the plant, the
resulting transgenic mRNA joins the
complementary mRNA of the endogenous
gene and forms a double stranded RNA
molecule. This double stranded RNA
molecule is detected and cleaved by a DICER
ribonuclease and fragments called microRNA
and interfering RNA are obtained. microRNA
and siRNA are recognized by RNA-induced
silencing complex (RISC) and Argonaute
proteins (AGOs), and they specifically induce
the silencing of the target gene from which
RNA fragments are originated by mRNA
degradation (Kamthan et al., 2015). In
addition, RNAi-mediated gene silencing
avoids redundancy in polyploids and allows
the development of loss-of-function mutants
(Lawrence & Pikaard, 2003) so it seems to be
an adequate technique in order to obtain
plants with low gluten content, as gluten
proteins are encoded by multigene families.
Using this shutdown expression technique,
Gil-Humanes and his group reported that the
reduction of alpha, gamma and omega
gliadins content implies a significant decrease
of the gluten fraction protein in the grain.
This strategy consists on designing RNAi
constructs with conserved regions from
gliadins. For this purpose, conserved regions
from alpha and omega gliadins are inverted
and inserted in a plasmid containing already
the inverted sequence of gamma gliadins.
Wheat lines are bombarded with the vectors
containing the gliadin RNAi fragments to
obtain transgenic lines with downregulated
gliadins. Stable transgenic wheat lines are
obtained with this strategy but they still
contain small amounts of gliadins so the
stimulation of immune system is not
completely avoided (Gil-Humanes et al.,
2010). However, moderated consumption of
this partial gluten-free flour can avoid allergic
reactions, as an intake between 10 and 100
mg of gluten per day is considered safe for
celiac patients (Hischenhuber et al., 2006).
An alternative to transgenic plants is the
development of strategies to obtain wheat
gluten hydrolysates with low antigenicity
using peptidases from different origins.
Flavourzyme, Bioprase and Thermoase have
been tested in order to study the peptidase
influence on the antigenicity of wheat gluten
hydrolysates obtained from enzymatic
hydrolysis. The effects of different unitary
operations such as centrifugation and
ultrafiltration have also been evaluated. A
production process based on the hydrolysis
with Flavourzyme peptidase combined with a
centrifugation operation provides gluten-free
hydrolysates that can be applied for the
development of baked products for celiac
patients (Merz et al., 2015).
Ending worldwide starvation. Golden rice
Vitamin A deficiency is one of the main
nutritional problems in developing countries
around the world as this deficiency is
commonly linked to insufficient and poor
dietary intake. This lack of vitamin A causes
important health problems, especially during
childhood. One of the most important
illnesses caused by this deficiency is
xerophtalmia, a pathologic dryness of the
conjunctiva and the cornea, which causes
blindness and vision problems (Akhtar et al.,
2013). Furthermore, child mortality and
morbidity increases in developing countries
where diets are vitamin A deficient. It is
estimated that diets with improved vitamin A
levels could prevent between one and two
million deaths per year among children aged
under 4 (Humphrey et al., 1992). Nowadays
three strategies are being developed in order
to solve vitamin A deficiency in developing
countries: dietary diversification to provide
multiple micronutrients, direct
supplementation with vitamin A and

4. 4
fortification of staple food (Akhtar et al.,
2013).
The development of fortified staple food is
mainly based on biotechnological
technologies; it is the case of the “Golden
Rice”. Rice is one of the main staple foods in
developing countries but its endosperm does
not contain carotenoids neither provitamin A
(beta-carotene) at all. The objective of the
work by Potrykus et al., 1997 was to develop a
transformation method to obtain transgenic
rice lines containing the necessary genes to
induce the accumulation of phytoene, the key
precursor of beta-carotene, in the
endosperm. The transformation was carried
out by microprojectile bombardment with
cDNA coding for phytoene synthase. The
results showed that the expression of
phytoene synthase in the endosperm makes
possible to start the beta-carotene
biosynthesis in rice (Burkhardt et al., 1997).
Consequently, the accumulation of
provitamin A in the endosperm is possible by
introducing a biosynthetic pathway de novo,
so farmers of developing countries could be
provided with beta-carotene-rich seeds in
order to reduce health problems related to
vitamin A deficiency in these populations
(Beyer et al., 2002). In fact, trials with
volunteers who ingested rice grains with
deuterium-labeled beta-carotene show that
this precursor is properly converted into
vitamin A in humans (Tang et al., 2009).
Furthermore, some strategies have been
developed in order to fortify rice with other
micronutrients. An iron-deficiency diet in
developing areas of Asia and Africa is one of
the main factors causing anemia and other
illnesses related to haemoglobin statuses
(Stevens et al., 2013). Transgenic rice lines
expressing combinations of iron regulated
transporters, nicotianamine synthase and
ferritin show increased values of iron
accumulation in grains. Thus, of iron
transporters and iron storage proteins
expression in roots contributes to the
accumulation of this micronutrient, which
seems to be a proper implementation
strategy for rice biofortification (Boonyaves
et al., 2015).
Folate is a water-soluble vitamin which plays
an essential role in mammal and human
metabolism. Deficiencies in the intake of
folate have been associated with multiple
diseases as Alzheimer’s disease, coronary
diseases, several types of cancer and loss of
cognitive capacities, among others (Iyer et al.,
2009). The combined overexpression in rice
of GTP cyclohydrolase I and
aminodeoxychorismate synthase, the first
enzymes in different branches of folate
biosynthesis pathways, shows that is possible
to increase up to 100-fold the content of
folates with respect to the wild type lines
(Bekaert et al., 2008).
Moreover, there are some substances also
accumulated in rice grain that can cause
health problems when ingested. This is the
case of cadmium, which produces liver and
kidney problems when accumulated in high
concentrations. Taking into account that rice
is the main staple food in several developing
areas, different molecular strategies have
been developed in order to diminish the
content of this toxic compound (Yoneyama et
al., 2015). Gene expression studies reveal that
it is possible to diminish the content of
cadmium in plants by down-regulating genes
related to cadmium accumulation (Ueno et
al., 2010). Moreover, some mutated genes
encoding transporters in root exhibit a
positive effect reducing levels of cadmium in
plants (Ishikawa et al., 2012).
However, the industrial production of these
transgenic crops has to face some
bottlenecks. Although transgenic cultivars are
engineered in order to supply essential
micronutrients to people in developing
countries and provide better properties to the
main staple food, the current legal regulation
of genetically modified food is causing a delay
in its industrial production due to the strict
requirements demanded in order to
commercialize them. Consequently,
humanitarian solution to malnutrition in
developing areas is also delayed, as
biofortified food could save millions of lives
among the most underprivileged populations
in the world (Potrykus, 2010).

5. SMART FOOD FOR THE XXI CENTURY
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FOOD À LA CARTE: HOW TO FULFIL ALL
YOUR NEEDS
Functional food in the sense that has been
referred to previously implies a health benefit
in comparison with that same food which has
not been altered (Siro et al., 2008). This is not
the topic that will be reviewed in this section,
as the food innovations that will be discussed
do not provide health-giving profits to
consumers. They arise from a society’s desire
to satisfy certain demands.
Communities influence food as much as food
influences these communities. That is why, as
societies evolve, their needs may turn into
new products the same way recent edibles
can direction society’s evolution in a certain
way. Chips are a good example of this trend.
Potato chips used to be a really good
condiment for both young and adults (and
they still are) but as a result of the growing
health-concerned society, industries came up
with the idea of the perfect alternative: chips
made from other vegetables or fruit. They
represent a much healthier replacement for
old fatty chips which nowadays are rapidly
growing in demand (Tumuluru, 2016). This is
only one case but there are many more food
novelties on the making. Pizzas made from
3D printers, cultured meat or soylent (a
product that supposedly provides all nutrients
in one drink) are part of the “food of the
future” trends that in a couple of years will
fully be a reality (Van der Welle, 2014;
Krubert, 1986).
In this section of the present review, focus is
going to be made in some foods that do not
have as a final result a considerable healthier
product in terms of medical relevance.
Instead, they contain desirable properties
which are pleased by consumers, specially, in
modern developed societies (Siro et al., 2008;
Action, 1999).
Dietetic additives. Glucomannans
What society eats and how much they eat of
it play a crucial role in our health and well-
being. That is why, for many slimmers, the
fact that some foods have more satiating
power than others can be a key element
when undergoing a diet. In this sense,
glucomannans can be the perfect solution.
Glucomannans have been recently introduced
into the United States and Europe as a food
additive and a dietary supplement. They are a
group of mannans, which are carbohydrates
(especially polysaccharides) that contain
mannose residues. Glucomannans in
particular are composed by partially
acetylated (1-4)-β-D-glucose and mannose
residues (Fig.1) that do not follow any regular
distribution and, depending on the source,
will have variable mannose:glucose ratios as
well as other particular properties (Chua et
al., 2010; Tester et al., 2013). They are
hemicellulose components located in the cells
walls of some plants and their function can
range from storage (when they are in
monocots, seeds and bulbs) or structural (if
located in wood) (Matheson, 1990).
Although glucomannans can be obtained
from different sources (Khanna, 2003) it is
konjac glucomannan (derived from the plant
Amorphophallus konjac) the polysaccharide
that has been more studied and in which
glucomannans’ potential has been more
successfully developed. In addition, not only
satiating effects have been attributed to
these polysaccharides, but also some other
Figure 1. Chemical structure of glucomannan. G: glucose, M: mannose (Tester & Al-Ghazzewei, 2013).

6. 6
desirable nutritional and health
characteristics such as their laxative effect or
their prebiotic, anti-obesity and anti-
hyperglyceminc activities (Chua et al., 2010).
Compared to some other dietary fibers,
glucomannans have a higher viscosity and
molecular weight (ranging from 500.000 to
2.000.000 Da) and, apart from being water-
soluble, they also have hygroscopic
properties. This means that when a dried
molecule of glucomannan mixes with water,
it forms a viscous gel, absorbing up to 50
times its weight in water (Vabderbeek et al.,
2007). As a consequence, once it is ingested,
it swells in the stomach providing a sensation
of fullness and satiety leading to a decrease in
subsequent energy intake (EFSA Panel on
Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies
(NDA), 2010).
Nutraceutical properties of konjac
glucomannan are not directly experienced by
ingesting the botanical source of
glucomannans, instead, commercial konjac
flour is usually manufactured prior to its
intake. Before it is processed, external corm
surfaces need to be washed so that soil and
dirt particles are removed. Once cleaned,
corms are sliced into chips, and then dried
using hot air dryers that emit sulphur dioxide
(which is a bleaching agent) preventing the
darkening of the product. Then a
pulverization step is carried out, in which the
chips are blended and residual water is
removed leading a powder-like product that
is the crude konjac flour. It has a fisk-like
smell and an acrid taste. Food-quality konjac
flour is produced by removing impurities
(starch, proteins, cellulose and low molecular
sugars) from the crude extract either by wind
sifting or by alcohol precipitation. The latter
requires a series of ethanol washings to
remove low molecular weight sugars such as
D-glucose and D-fructose in the flour,
followed by aqueous extraction at room
temperature. Purified konjac flour
(nutraceutical grade) is produced without
bleaching the sliced chips by fumigation with
sulphur dioxide and the resultant “organic
crude flour” undergoes a series of extraction
and purification processes. These are
followed by product inspections before being
formulated into glucomannans supplements.
The extraction and purification procedures
are crucial as they may affect the quality of
purified konjac flour in terms of
physicochemical properties (Liu et al., 1998;
Chua et al., 2010).
Both konjac flour and konjac glucomannan
(the water-soluble hydrocolloid obtained
from konjac flour by washing with water-
containing ethanol) have been formulated
into different dosages forms such as capsules,
drink mixes, granules and tables. The optimal
daily dosage for konjac glucomannan has yet
to be established, although for weigh loss, a
recommended dosage is 1g three times a day,
1 hour before meals (EFSA Panel on Dietetic
Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA),
2010). These products can be used simply by
mixing glucomannan and water to later drink
it or also by using it as a thickener in many
recipes than comprise main dishes, sides and
also desserts. The latter one is much more
versatile as it provides the eater with a dish
that has the same flavour as the original one
(glucomannans are both tasteless and
odourless) but with a much more satiating
power. But apart from this usage,
glucomannans have also been used to make
noodles, tofu and snacks. These products
represent a dish itself and in the case of
noodles (called shirataki noodles), they can be
used as the main ingredient, giving rise to as
many recipes as there are cooks.
The ultimate solution for veggies.
Mycroproteins
As a response to society’s evolution, food
industries have had to explore new ways to
satisfy costumers’ changing desires. Many of
these requests are addressed to meat
alternatives since, in addition to true
vegetarian diets, there is growing consumer
interest in related eating patterns such as the
avoidance or reduced consumption of red
meat. The key drivers of market growth
include consumer concerns over food safety
scares (particularly in relation to animal
products), growth in the number of
vegetarians, meat avoiders and meat
reducers or even meat eaters seeking more

7. SMART FOOD FOR THE XXI CENTURY
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variety in their diets (Sadler, 2004). As a
consequence, artificial meat has been
developed. In this sense, three main classes
can be differentiated: meat substitutes (plants
and mycoproteins as meat alternatives),
cultured meat (produced from in vitro cell
cultures) and modified meat (from genetically
modified organisms) (Bonny et al., 2015). In
this segment, only meat substitutes, in
particular mycoproteins, will be reviewed.
QuornTM
is the name in which Fusarum
venenatum mycoprotein is sold, which was
developed by the British company Rank Hovis
McDougall (RHM) during the late 1960s. It is
not the direct response of Food Industries to
meat alternatives, as this product was the
result of decades of research among
thousands of different microorganisms and
which were conceived for animal use rather
than human consumption in the first place
(O’Donnell, 1998). In order to bring
mycoprotein from F. venenatum A3/5 strain
into the market, as it was a potential plant
pathogen, it was necessary to invest 12 years
in researching the safety of the organism and
the final product. Nowadays it can be found
mainly in USA and Europe (including United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain,
Scandinavian countries…), but also in other
countries such as Australia and South Africa.
Mycoprotein is produced in 150.000L reactors
working in continuous, since the product is
the fungal biomass itself. One of the
advantages of a continuous flow is the
reduction in time required for
decontamination, sterilization and batch
growth, so that mycoprotein cultures can be
maintained longer, about 1.000 hours.
However, unfavourable morphological
changes are reported after 1.000-1.200 hours
of cultivation (Solomons, 1985). That is why,
several strategies have been suggested to
prevent or delay the appearance of highly
branched mutant in F. venenatum A3/5
populations. On the other hand, in terms of
carbon and nitrogen, glucose and ammonium
are used respectively, both nutrients in excess
as the evolution rate is determined by the
CO2. This fermentation is carried out in
specific growing conditions (28-30o
C of
temperature and pH of 6.0) yielding a
particular growth rate. Once the biomass has
been produced, its RNA content must be
reduced to cover the safety standards. This
process is done by means of a heat shock
operation (with temperatures >68o
C) for 30-
45 min (Ward, 1998). As a consequence, RNA
is degraded into monomers which diffuse out
of the cells along with other cell components.
Afterwards, the biomass suspension is heated
to 90o
C before collecting it by centrifugation
and cooling. The product of this procedure is
mycoprotein, which will be later combined
with other components, such as egg albumin
so that it finally gets a texture and flavour
comparable to meat (Wiebe, 2002;2004).
Actually, in a study mycoprotein was
considered to be a suitable alternative to
chicken in terms of appearance, flavour,
texture and aroma (McIIveen et al., 1999). But
not only this, nutritional properties of this
product are also positive. QuornTM
mycoprotein contains approximately 44%
(w/w) protein on a dry basis and all essential
amino acids are present. F. venenatum
mycoprotein also provides a source of dietary
fibre, containing no cholesterol and low
saturated fats (Table 1).
As a result, QuornTM
products are a rich
source of mycoproteins which represent a
good meat alternative not only for
vegetarians but also for those seeking
healthier diets. However, its production costs
remain too high for this product to be
available in poor countries, where cheap,
Nutritional
information (per
100g)
QuornTM
Meat Free
Burger
Regular
burger
Energy
641kJ
(160kcal)
1213kJ
(290kcal)
Protein 14.1 g 15.7 g
Carbohydrate 8.1 g 28.8 g
of which sugars 2.9 g 3.6 g
Fat 7.3 g 11.8 g
of which saturates 2.6 g 4.3 g
Fibre 2.4 g 1.2 g
Table 1. The nutrient composition of myco-
protein products (QuornTM
burgers) compared
with normal burger.

8. 8
palatable protein-rich products are still
needed. As for the wide range of product that
QuornTM
offers, they comprise from burgers,
nuggets, patties up to bacon-free style slices
and many other options.
FOOD PRESERVATION: THE ULTIMATE
ALTERNATIVE TO E-PRESERVATIVES
Food preservation consist on protecting the
product from its surroundings and
maintaining the quality of the food during its
whole shelf-life by means of forming
packages and using preservatives.
Preservation procedures must achieve legal
and commercial demands (Petersen et al.,
1999).
Product shelf-life is controlled by three
factors: product characteristics and
properties (enzymatic, chemical, physical and
microbiological changes), the conditions to
which the product is exposed during storage
and distribution (temperature, relative
humidity and light intensity) and barrier
properties of the individual packaging
material which function is to protect the
product against to permeability of gases,
water vapor, aromas and light (Harte & Gray,
1987).
The sensory and nutritionally quality of most
foods is maintained through the application
of combined preservative factors, called
hurdles. The main hurdles used for food
preservation are temperature (high or low),
control of water activity, acidity/pH and redox
potential, preservatives and competitive
microorganisms –lactic acid bacteria which
produce antimicrobial bacteriocins (Cleveland
et al., 2001; Leistner, 2000).
To prolong the self-life of fresh-food products
different technologies have been used so far,
intended to reduce both enzymatic browning
and tissue softening after cutting (Rojas‐Graü
et al., 2009) and putting microorganisms in a
hostile environment to inhibit growth,
shorten their survival or cause their death
(Leistner, 2000). Nevertheless, almost all of
the chemicals used for preservation in
classical strategies (based on preservatives as
sulfite, citric acid, ascorbic acid derivatives,
cinnamate, benzoate and cyclodextrins)
confer off flavors. Moreover, the most
effective substances used are declared as
unsafe (Porta et al., 2013).
The current alternatives to preservatives are:
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), a
dynamic system with two gas fluxes which
allows the respiration of the fresh products
and the gas exchange through a packaging
film (Van de Velde & Kiekens, 2002) and the
application of edible coatings, which is
demonstrating to be simple and effective in
avoiding appearance and textural
deterioration (Porta et al., 2013). Due to its
importance, in this section, this last approach
is going to be explained in detail.
Enjoy every bite. Edible films and coatings
Definition and contextualization
Present day consumers demand comestibles
that combine prolonged shelf-life appearance
without the use of preservatives (Galus &
Kadzińska, 2015) nor non-biodegradable
packaging (Rodrigues, 2012). In addition,
food texture is determinant for product
acceptability, affecting consumer’s decision
to buy it or not (Porta et al. 2013).
Both appearance and texture of food are
tightly liked and affected by food
deterioration process. That natural
phenomena occurring to comestibles is
determined by several factors as genetic,
environmental, postharvest handling and
storage conditions (Porta et al. 2013). So that,
it is needed to protect edibles against those
agents affecting product shelf-life as water
vapor, gases and flavor compounds
(Rodrigues, 2012) but also against breakage
of the product, oxidation of color, aroma
compounds and the lipid fraction as well as
rodent and insect infestation (Petersen et al.
1999).
Trying to fit the mentioned precepts, edible
food packaging (films and coatings) arises as
the most suitable solution for current food
preservation: it is designed to be an integral
part of the product (which could be eaten) it
has the ability to improve food quality and it
is biodegradable (Krochta, 2002). Edible
packaging are thin layers of edible materials
which are applied on food products

9. SMART FOOD FOR THE XXI CENTURY
9
contributing to their preservation, structural
integrity and mechanical-handling properties
improvement, distribution and marketing
(Bourtoom, 2008; Falaguera et al., 2011; Jridi
et al., 2013; Rodrigues, 2012). However, the
use of edible coatings requires a secondary
non-edible external packaging due to obvious
handling and hygienic reasons (Debeaufort et
al., 1998).
Although the terms edible films (EF) and
edible coatings (EC) are often used
indiscriminately, films are produced
separately as solid sheets and later applied to
food surface while coatings are built directly
onto food surfaces in liquid form (McHugh,
2000; Falaguera et al., 2011).
The most common compounds to produce
edible coatings are polysaccharides, between
others: chitosan, starch, cellulose, alginate,
carrageenan, gelatin, zein, gluten, whey,
carnauba, beeswax and fatty acids (Fakhouri
et al., 2015).
Requirements of a coating material
Aiming to develop effective approaches to
counteract food texture and appearance
changes, a precise knowledge of the
processes leading to these modifications is
crucial (Porta et al., 2013).
Mechanical, barrier and thermal properties
need to be considered when it comes to
select the coating material (Fakhouri et al.,
2015). The ideal characteristics of an edible
coating depend ultimately on the specific
requirements of the product to be coated –
including its different susceptibility to distinct
deteriorative reactions (Rodrigues, 2012).
The main foods which tend to be protected
with edible films are: fruits and vegetables,
meat and meat products, cheeses, bakery
products, chocolates and nuts. Table 2
compiles the main agents against which
those foods must be protected from by edible
packaging materials (Petersen et al., 1999).
Taking into account that edible films can be
characterized according to their visual aspect,
film thickness, opacity, water and acid
solubility, water vapor permeability and
mechanical properties, the main
requirements needed for an edible coating
could be defined based on the factors
exposed in Table 2.
Those principal requirements for an edible
coating material are:
Moderately low permeability to O2 and CO2
in order to decrease respiration and overall
metabolic activity, retarding ripening and its
derivate changes. But the metabolic activity
Food
Time
and
Temp.
Quality factors determining shelf-life Optimal barrier properties
m.o Colour
Oxi-
dation
Structure Flavour Others O2 CO2 H2O Light Others
Animal
derived
products
0-5ºC,
1-4
weeks
All
Red
and
cured
meats
Cured
meat,
fluid
milk,
cheese,
butter
and oil
Fermen-
ted milk
Fish,
ferment
-ed
milk,
cheese,
butter
and oil
Chemical
and
enzymatic:
fish, butter
and oil
Photo-
oxidation:
fluid and
fermented
milk and
cheese
High High
High
(but
fish)
High for
photo-
oxidation
sensible
(fluid and
fermented
milk and
cheese)
Odours:
fish,
cheese
Aroma:
eggs,
fluid
and
ferment
-ed milk
Fruits and
vegetables
0-25ºC,
1 week
All - All All - - High High High High Odours
Dry
products
(pasta,
breads,
cakes,
chocolates)
RT.,
1 yr.
Flour/
grains,
breads,
cakes
Pastas,
cakes,
cookie
All - All
Enzymatic:
flour, grains
Humidity:
cereals
Staling:
breads
High
High
(cakes
and
bread)
High High -
Table 2. Parameters affecting food shelf-life (based on Petersen et al., 1999).

10. 10
must not be so reduced that creates
anaerobic conditions, as due to that, it would
promote physiological distortions and
accelerate quality loss, resulting in the
decrease of fruit brittleness and firmness
(Kester & Fennema, 1986; Debeaufort et al.,
1998). The CO2/O2 permeability ratio (related
to selectivity) should be as high as possible.
Proteins and polysaccharide coatings offer
higher ratios than those of conventional
plastic films (Debeaufort et al., 1998). This
selective permeability to O2, CO2, H2O and
solutes is an advantage of EC in contrast to
MAP system, which is based on a permeable
film which leads on a limited product shelf-
life as gram negative bacteria will be allowed
to growth quickly (Fakhouri et al., 2015).
Low permeability to water vapor so as to
retard desiccation (Garcia & Barret, 2002).
This aspect is especially difficult in those
cases as minimally processed fruits, since the
product surface usually has a very high water
activity that tends to decrease the
performance of hydrophilic coatings
(Hagenmaier & Shaw, 1997).
Sensory inertness or compatibility. EC have
always supposed to be tasteless, so they
would not interfere with the flavor of the
product. However, they may have sensory
properties compatible with those of the food,
as for example fruit purees used as edible
coatings for fruits due to the film-forming
polysaccharides in their composition (Senesi
& McHugh, 2002; Rojas-Graü et al., 2006).
Moreover, the compatibility between
components forming the EC or EF, as well as
its miscibility, results in a more cohesive and
homogeneous final film structure.
Additionally, EC may also contain active
agents such as probiotics (López de Lacey et
al., 2012), antimicrobials and antioxidants,
which would extend the shelf-life of a product
(Appendini et al., 2002), flavours, bioactive
compounds or nutraceuticals (Galus &
Kadzińska, 2015).
Chemical composition of edible coatings
Edible films and coatings may be classified
according to the kind of material from which
they are derived. Each chemical class has its
inherent properties, advantages, and
limitations for being used as films (Rodrigues,
2012): proteins, polysaccharides, lipids or
composite.
Although there are popular proteins used as
EF and EC; collagen, gelatin, caseins, whey
protein, corn zein, wheat gluten, soy protein,
egg white protein, myofibrillar protein,
quinoa protein and keratin (Galus &
Kadzińska, 2015); protein-based
compositions are sometimes avoided due to
current concerns with food allergen, since
many of those ingredients are isolated from
animal sources (Geneviève Girard, 2013).
The main polysaccharide materials tested as
edible packaging materials are starch,
cellulose and its derivatives, pectin, chitosan,
alginate, carrageenan, pullulan and gellan
gum (Han & Gennadios, 2005). Plasticizers
(glycerol, sorbitol, monoglycerides,
polyethylene glycol and glucose) are often
used to increase flexibility and elasticity of
biopolymers (Galus & Kadzińska, 2015).
Regarding lipids; fats and oils, vegetable oils
(corn oil, olive oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower
oil) that are a source of fatty acids, are the
most popular and they are incorporated into
film-forming solutions needed for producing
emulsion-based structures of EC an EF.
Naturally occurring waxes coming from
vegetables (carnauba, candelilla and sugar
cane waxes) or animals (beeswax, lanolin and
wool grease) are more resistant to water
diffusion thanks to their low content of polar
groups and high content of long-chain fatty
alcohols and alkanes (Galus & Kadzińska,
2015). But in general, lipid films lack of the
structural integrity of protein or
polysaccharide films and if not combined, can
negatively affect film strength (Gontard et al.,
1995; Weller et al., 1998).
Recently, research efforts are focused on
composite or multicomponent films to study
whether the advantages of each component
acts complementarily, as well as to reduce
disadvantages (Kurek et al., 2014). The most
common is to combine a hydrophilic
structural matrix with a hydrophobic lipid
compound resulting in improved moisture

11. SMART FOOD FOR THE XXI CENTURY
11
barrier properties and functionality with
respect to pure hydrocolloid films. Composite
or multicomponent films can be either bi-
layers (where the lipid forms the second layer
over the polysaccharide or protein base layer)
or emulsions, in which the lipid is dispersed
along the biopolymer matrix (Galus &
Kadzińska, 2015). One example of a
polysaccharide composition that would
display the best properties using a few
components is showed in Table 3 (Geneviève
Girard, 2013).
Formation of edible coatings and films and
application to foods
To achieve successful coating operations,
specific parameters have to be taken into
account when selecting the technology used
to make and apply EF and EC: the base
product to be coated (composition, shape,
density), processing equipment (continuous/
batch, temperature, static/dynamic) and the
coating formulation (solvent, composition,
viscosity) (Galus & Kadzińska, 2015).
The first step necessary for film formation or
coating application is the emulsification
process of the lipid phase in the aqueous
phase. Then, different techniques for
homogenization are used to prepare the film-
forming emulsion: rotor-stator homogenizers
(the most popular due to the time, rate and
pressure it applies), microfluidization and
sonification, which produce nanoemulsions of
150-700 nm particle size (Ma et al., 2012;
Vargas et al., 2011).
The simplest way of coating the product is
directly from film-forming solutions. The
material to which the coating is applied will
absorb and appropriate amount of solution
necessary to form the desired layer, which
will act as protective layer to food (Galus &
Kadzińska, 2015).
CONCLUSIONS
There is no doubt that food engineering
generates one of the most promising and
dynamically developing segments of food
industry. There are several factors supporting
the inflow of these products like the
increasing consumer awareness in
combination with new advances in various
scientific domains. These foods have been
developed virtually in all food categories,
however their distribution over the segments
of the market is not homogeneous and
product preferences may vary between
markets. In particular, in Europe there are
large regional differences in acceptance of
functional foods. The development and
commerce of this type of food products is
rather complex, expensive and risky, as
special requirements should be answered.
These conditions do not only comprise the
innovation and effectiveness of the product
itself, but also the potential acceptance by
the society, which is crucial in this sense.
Consumer acceptance of these foods has
been widely recognized as a key success
factor for market orientation, consumer-led
product development, and successfully
negotiating market opportunities (Siró et al.,
2008; Falk et al., 2002).
Everyday more consumers’ worries about
everything related to food innovation seems
to be gradually vanishing as researchers try to
make them understand all the safety which is
involved during every single step of these
foods manufacture. Consumer’s education
plays a large role in this whole debate, but in
order to make that guidance possible, both
scientist and food producers have to help
society understand that biotechnological
food has concerns, as everything, but that
should not prevent them from accessing this
versatile type of food that has far more
benefits than objections.
Jellifying
agent
Sodium alginate (1.5%)
Cross-linking
agent
Calcium ascorbate (15%
w/w)
Other with
jellifying agent
Vanilla
essence
(0.1%)
Lactobacillus
casei (2%) or
Bifidobacterium
bifidum (2%)
(probiotics)
Table 3. Polysaccharide composition and its
properties (Geneviève Girard, 2013)

12. 12
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