Recent advances in gelatine and chitosan complex material for practical food preservation application

Summary Both gelatine and chitosan are safe, odourless, edible, biodegradable, biocompatible, cost‐efficient and commercially available biopolymers, which promotes the possibility of forming complex. Many factors, including origin, molecular weight, deacetylation degree, pH, salts, concentration, temperature, active materials, modifiers, etc., could impose effect on the process of producing gelatine‐chitosan complex. The formed gelatine‐chitosan complex has excellent physicochemical properties such as antibacterial property and antioxidant property, and could effectively preserve practical food (such as meat, vegetables and fruits). This article comprehensively reviews recent advances in factors affecting the complex forming process and practical food preservation application of gelatine‐chitosan complex. It aims to provide an overview of the value of gelatine‐chitosan complex as an effective preservation alternative in food technology.