Technological, applications, and characteristics of edible films and coatings: a review

In the last 2 decades, food packaging and packaging industry have received considerable attention from those who interested in manufacturing edible films and biodegradable packaging materials. The interest in whey proteins has increased because of their environmental benefits, availability in large quantities as residues, non-toxicity, low price, high nutritional values, and suitability for the packaging and protecting foods from damage. The purpose of this work is to highlight and review the importance of using edible films and coatings. This work also emphasizes the benefits of using edible films in the packaging industry. Finally, this work presents the most popular varieties of edible films, such as whey protein films and lipid films and their characteristics.