Desenvolvimento, otimização e avaliação sensorial de bionanocompósitos poliméricos comestíveis

Abstract

The growing environmental concern triggered by the exacerbated exploitation of fossil raw materials to produce large volumes of non-biodegradable materials, driven by the accelerated growth of the world population and the demand for food, motivates the search for alternative materials from renewable sources. In this work, active biocomposites based on lemon grass essential oil and cocoa butter were produced. For this, starch (TPS) and malt bagasse fibers were added as a binding and reinforcing agent, respectively. Before, however, the filmogenic components were extensively studied in isolation. The effects of adding cocoa butter in the form of an emulsion were investigated from the point of view of hydrophilicity performance. Malt bagasse fibers were used as a source of filling and mechanical reinforcement of the matrix. The production of lemongrass essential oil nanoemulsions was due to the correlation of the surfactant structure and oil concentration. After understanding the effects on the mechanical, barrier and thermal properties of cocoa butter films, composites of malt bagasse fibers, of lemon grass nanoemulsions in the TPS matrix, experiments of four-year mixtures were conducted to establish correlations between the formulations of biocomposites and their physicochemical properties. These films were produced with the purpose of obtaining (i) biodegradable biocomposites with physical-mechanical performances suitable for packaging applications, using cocoa butter emulsion, malt bagasse residue and lemongrass nanoemulsion, and (ii) biocomposites assets with unique nutritional and sensory properties through the combination of lemongrass essential oil and TPS. Finally, the production of these materials has been successfully scaled to the pilot scale through a continuous casting approach. These films were evaluated for their sensory acceptance applied to chocolates and studies of consumer behavior.These films were evaluated in terms of their sensory acceptance applied to chocolates and regarding consumer behavior studies, using the hard laddering technique. The results obtained in these studies demonstrated that consumers have different perceptions in relation to the different types of packaging and that the choice for bio-composite packaging generated predominantly positive associations, associated with better quality for the environment, health, quality of life and well-being.