Electrospinning and electrospraying technologies for food and packaging applications

Over the past decade, electrospun and electrosprayed materials are increasingly being exploited for food applications to address shelf life and stability issues. Food-grade biopolymers and synthetic polymers have been electrospun into nonwoven or electrosprayed into particulate carriers to encapsulate various bioactives for different purposes such as to increase storage stability, control bioactives' release profile, prevent unwanted interaction with other food components, increase bioaccessibility/bioavailability, etc. Electrospun nonwovens impregnated with volatile and nonvolatile species are being explored in food packaging applications, wherein composite structures capable of interacting with the changing storage/distribution conditions (e.g., elevated relative humidity, temperature abuse, microbial growth) are being incorporate in packages to extend product's shelf life. This chapter reviewed recent developments related to the use of electrospinning and electrospraying technologies for food-related applications, focusing on summarizing the properties of spin/spray-dope solutions, discussing innovative processing techniques used, as well as highlighting some of the opportunities and concerns from a perspective of food and nutraceutical industries.