Reducing Aluminum Toxicity in Food Packaging Using Bio- Polymer

Reducing Aluminum Toxicity in Food Packaging Using Bio- Polymer | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Reducing Aluminum Toxicity in Food Packaging Using Bio- Polymer Neeta Shiva Kumar, R Dhivyapriya, B R Spoorthi, Spoorti Soratur This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4741465/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In the era of modern food industry, food packaging has gained a lot of interest that helps in protecting food from environmental factors and in maintaining the integrity of food. Aluminum, being widely used material in food packaging has been used as containers, foils and pouches in packaging of hot foods, snacks and beverages. Many studies have been conducted which show that there is an increase in Aluminum content in brains of patients with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. It has been suspected that leaching of Aluminum content from the food packaging is one of the main reasons. Hence in this work, a biopolymer barrier has been used in reduction of Aluminum leaching into food. Chitosan, being a biopolymer, is non-toxic and biodegradable which has film forming and antimicrobial properties can be used as a barrier in order to prevent the leaching of Aluminum into the food. Hot rice (approx. 60°C) was used as sample for the experiment. Hot rice was wrapped in Aluminum foil and chitosan coated Aluminum foil for 90 minutes. Aluminum content was detected using inductively coupled plasma- optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) for only rice; rice in Aluminum foil and rice in chitosan coated Aluminum foil and found to be 2.81ppm, 3.29ppm and 2.87ppm respectively. The result obtained implied that chitosan acts as a barrier thereby inferring that chitosan coated Aluminum foil can be used to reduce leaching of Aluminum to the food and hence minimise the ill effects of Aluminum intake to the body. Food packaging Aluminum leaching Aluminum toxicity chitosan bio-polymer ICP-OES Figures Figure 1 1. INTRODUCTION The food grown in fields as well as the processed ones need to be distributed to consumers located in faraway places. It is a necessity to protect the food from environmental factors without altering its physical and chemical nature during transport. Hence food packaging becomes an evident factor. The food packaging materials has to be chosen selectively based on its health safety, energy, material costs, environmental impact and waste management processes. Food packaging has applications in maintaining the nature of processed food and improving the shelf life. There are three kinds of significant environmental influence on food physically, biologically and chemically. Chemical protection is required against light, moisture, exposure to different gases mostly oxygen. Glass and metals can be used as chemical barriers. Biological protection is required against microorganisms, insects, pests and animals. It helps in delaying ripening and senescence. It usually retains odour within package, prevent access to the materials and maintain optimum internal environment. Physical protection provides protection from causation of mechanical damage. It prevents damage produced during shipping and transportation like crushing, vibrations etc. Hence exploration of materials for food packaging with required properties is need of the hour. Glass having odourless property, chemically inert serves as a food packaging material. It maintains the quality of food and flavour because it is impermeable to the gases and vapours. It can withstand high temperature and also is acid- resistant. Brittle nature of glass limits its applications in spite of recyclability. Paper and paperboard products although is not a perfect packaging materials for long term usage, is used in primary packaging impregnated with waxes, resins etc. Plastics are manufactured using poly condensation reaction or poly addition of monomer units. They can be moulded into different shapes, as sheets and offer flexibility. They are cost effective, light weight and chemically resistant. Most commonly used ones are polyolefins, polyesters, polystyrenes etc. It is disadvantageous due to differential permeability to the lights, gases and vapours and non-biodegradability. Metals such as Aluminum, tin free steel, laminated and metallized films, tin plate are widely used examples in food packaging. Aluminum which is commonly used in cans, foils, MLPs is a lightweight metal derived from bauxite ore. To improve its strength, magnesium and manganese are used more often. Due to crucial properties like resistance to corrosion, barrier against air, temperature, moisture due to presence of Aluminum oxide coating naturally, lightweight, flexibility, malleability and recyclability, easily separable for other materials due to non-magnetic nature, it is used in packaging of soft-drink, sea-food and hot foods (Kirwan., 2003). Despite wide applications of Aluminum in food packaging industry, studies have shown to cause ill effects due to Aluminum toxicity through long term intake. In this study, Aluminum leaching into food thereby Aluminum toxicity was aimed to reduce by using chitosan biopolymer as a barrier. ALUMINUM AS A FOOD PACKAGING MATERIAL Aluminum foil is prepared by converting Aluminum metal into very thin sheets by rolling which is immediately followed by annealing so that it is folded tightly. It is available in wide range of thickness where thinner ones are used to wrap foods such as rolls and thicker ones are used for trays. It provides same barrier properties to air, odour, light and moisture as in case of Aluminum. It also has dead fold property which means once fixed the Aluminum foil takes the shape of the container. It can combine with many components like paper, plastic, adhesives etc. (Kirwan., 2003; Kerry, 2012). Besides many advantages Aluminum provides there are several disadvantages that they are not suitable for cooking of foods in it above 150°C since it loses its strength as well as characteristics. Foil can also be punctured and torn out easily. This causes vapour and water permeability (Kerry, 2012). Habian et al. (2011) on their historical research in order to check feasibility as a food packaging found out that increased Aluminum content relates to several diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, renal failure, dementia and bone disease etc. It is stated that Aluminum enters the brain by binding to a protein called transferrin which is an iron carrier. The majority of Aluminum entering body binds to transferrin receptor rich region of brain which is also found to be regions vulnerable in Alzheimer’s disease. They mentioned that Aluminum cookwares when used to cook food rich in acid content can increase metal leaching. Epoxy resins and plastics were used as barriers to prevent Aluminum leaching. But it caused epoxy resin or bisphenol A poisoning in the body (Habian., 2011). Aluminum content can be exposed to human breasts through various sources including diet, personal care products and Aluminum based antiperspirant salts through dermal application. The increase of Aluminum in type 1 human breast cyst fluids made to further investigate whether intake has any biological impact. The chronic exposure of Aluminum showed to inhibit Na + /K + ATPase activity. Also it was found that the presence of Aluminum can lead to iron dyshomeostatis. Sources other than personal care products and underarm cosmetics, Aluminum in food and water were found to be major sources of exposure to the breast cancer. Further investigation to link between Aluminum intake and development of breast cancer is warranted wider to find whether Aluminum is found play any role with other environmental compounds (Darbre., 2011). Turhan et al. (2006) conducted experiments to detect Aluminum content in different kinds of meat like beef, water buffalo, mutton, turkey and chicken wrapped in Aluminum foil. Meat were cooked in electric oven in different conditions like 150°C for 60min, 200°C for 40min and 250°C for 20min. Both raw and cooked samples each 3g were taken and dried for 4h at 125°C and heated at 500°C for 6–8 hrs until ash was obtained. The acid digested samples were cooled, filtered and stored in glass jars for analysis using AAS at 309.3nm. It was evident that the maximum increase in Aluminum content was in cooked food kept at highest temperature. So, they concluded that temperature over time acts as a major factor in leaching. Although there were traces of leaching they state that it is tolerable since provisional tolerable daily intake of Aluminum according to WHO is 1mg/kg body weight per week. However, long term accumulation of Aluminum in the body may cause ill effects (Turhan., 2006). Low pH, temperature and salt content in the food are the factors that affect the extent of Aluminum into food. Fermo et al. (2020) studied Aluminum content in meat and fish that are cooked in pyrex pan, wrapped in aluminum foil and wrapped in Aluminum foil along with seasoning materials. They were cooked for 1 hour at 180°C. these samples as well as raw samples were digested in 1:3 HNO3: HCl on hot plate for 1hr then diluted. The samples were analysed using ICP-OES and the surface of foil was studied using SEM-EDS. The result showed that the Aluminum content was more in fish and meat wrapped in aluminum and seasoning material than raw and other two samples however for beef it was more in only aluminum wrapped food. The fat content may play a role here (Fermo., 2020). Inan-Eroglu et al. (2018) wanted to assess aluminum content leached into different types of meats(beef, chicken and mutton) that are heated at different conditions as 150°C for 60 min, 200°C for 40 min, 250°C for 20 min and in different type of foils. One is normal aluminum foil whereas other is aluminum foil whose one side is paper. They acid digested the food using HNO 3 in microwave digester and diluted to analyse Al content using ICP-MS. They concluded that leaching was more in aluminum foil as compared to with that of one having paper. They also observed that aluminum leaching is dependent on fat content, pH and cooking temperature and time irrespective of type of foil used (Inan-Eroglu.m 2018). In their studies, Dordevic et al. (2019) used different types of meats (beef, chicken and mutton) and Ertl et al. (2018) used marinated and non-marinated samples and found that Aluminum leaching was not as significant as compared to daily viable limit of consumption (Dordevic., 2019; Ertl., 2018). From different studies conducted using wide range of food samples, it is evident that long term intake of Aluminum leached due to usage in food packaging can lead to accumulation and potentially contribute to associated diseases. CHITOSAN: A POTENTIAL BIOPOLYMER FOR FOOD PACKAGING Active packaging is a type of packaging which includes the interaction between environment, package and product which is aimed at increasing shelf life and maintaining shelf life and quality of the product. Environmental concerns about packaging materials lead to usage of renewable resources as an alternative source. Biopolymers have been extensively studied in last decades which incorporate special properties like antifungal, antioxidants and antimicrobial activity (Mitelut., 2015; Bégin., 1999). They act as a barrier against gases and vapours. Some of them are cellulose, chitin, lipid and protein based polymers. Chitosan stands next to cellulose in abundance. They are obtained by de-acetylation of chitin which is majorly available from shells of shrimp, crab, sea weeds etc. Since they are the by- product of sea-food industries, the cost of production is economically feasible. They are biodegradable, non-toxic and have excellent strength and elongation properties (Singh., 2015). Antimicrobial property of chitosan depends on external factors like target organism, pH and also internal factors like de-acetylation, molecular weight etc. the long positive charge present in chitosan due to the presence of amino acids, interact with negative charges in cell surface of target organisms thereby causing disruption and leakage of proteins and contents of cell. Since the number of protonated amino acid increases with degree of de-acetylation, this acts as factor affecting antimicrobial property (Mitelut., 2015). Different types of chitosan films can be prepared using different methodologies. Chitosan can be dissolved using acetic acid and made as film. It can be blended with agar/cellulose/starch so that strength of material is increased. Many additives like potassium sorbate and nisin or edible oils like garlic oil can be used to increase antimicrobial property of film. The antimicrobial tests are generally conducted using agar diffusion method where certain amount of inoculums of organisms like Escherichia coli, bacillus cereus, listeria monocytogenes and staphylococcus aureus are seeded on it. The films are made into small discs and placed on media and they observed zone of inhibition (Tripathi., 2008; El-Hefian., 2012). Bégin et al. (1999) dissolved chitosan in 2% (w/v) acid like formic, citric, acetic and lactic acids along with HCl. They found out that the film thickness was more in ctric acid and lactic acid as compared to acetic acid containing films. Although they are thicker, they are brittle. Hence acetic acid is preferred while forming films (Bégin., 1999). Singh et al. (2015) carried out optimization of process of chitosan film formation using different concentrations of chitosan level, glycerol level and drying temperature in order to get different responses like thickness, solubility, density, water vapor permeability etc. they used chitosan 1.5- 2% and dissolved in 1%(w/v) acetic acid and glycerol 0.5-1% which acts as plasticizer. They were stirred on hot plate magnetic stirrer at 90°C and hen dried at varied temperatures. They found out that 2% w/v chitosan, 0.75% glycerol and drying temperature of 40°C for 48hrs were optimum conditions for development of good edible film (Singh., 2015). 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS Aluminum foil (thickness 0.0023mm) and Chitosan (low MW extrapure, 10-150m.Pas, 90% DA) and Glycerol (glycerin, anhydrous, extrapure AR, MW 92.09) purchased from Sisco Research Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. Acetic acid glacial 99- 100% and Nitric Acid (min. 69% GR) purchased from Merck Specialities Pvt. Ltd. 2.1 Chitosan Coated aluminum Foil Preparation Chitosan coated aluminum foil was prepared by coating chitosan solution on aluminum foil wrapped on the 15x15cm glass plate evenly. Chitosan solution was prepared by dissolving Chitosan (2% w/v) in aqueous solution containing acetic acid (1% v/v) and glycerol (0.75% v/v) as a plasticizer and heated in hot plate magnetic stirrer at 90º C for 10 minutes. The solution was cooled to room temperature. The prepared chitosan solution was coated onto aluminum foil using Hand Lay-Up method and incubated at 50ºC for 48 hours (Singh., 2015). a. Sample Preparation Rice (40 g) taken as sample was cooked upto approximately 60ºC. Food samples were wrapped in only aluminum foil which served as control and wrapped in prepared material as well, left still for 2 hours in room temperature. 2g of wrapped samples along with only rice were digested with 65% HNO 3 . For the food digestion nitric acid is used as all the nitric salts are soluble in water and H 2 SO 4 or HCl are not used since they produce sulphate or chloride salts which are not soluble in water. The samples after digestion were centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 10 minutes. Using Whatman filter paper-1 filtrate is obtained which was analysed for Al content using ICP-OES (Analytical Research & Metallurgical Laboratories Pvt. Ltd). 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Chitosan solution was prepared by using acetic acid instead of lactic acid, which is structurally more rigid with reduced tendency to deform (Pavoni., 2019). Chitosan solution coated on aluminum foil by hand lay-up method was spread uniformly and found to be non-porous to significant extent as evident in Fig. 1 . The thickness of aluminum foil and Chitosan coated on aluminum foil measured with micrometer were found to be 0.023 and 0.024 mm respectively. Upon wrapping the hot food sample (60ºC) in the chitosan coated aluminum foil, the coated chitosan layer was found to stay intact. No peeling of chitosan layer from aluminum foil was observed. However, temperature of food is an evident factor that contributes to extent of peeling of chitosan layer. aluminum content in each sample including only rice; rice wrapped in aluminum foil and rice wrapped in prepared material analysed using APHA/ICP-OES were found to be 2.81, 3.29 and 2.87 ppm respectively as mentioned in Table 1 . Table 1 Chemical Analysis of Samples for Al content by APHA/ICP-OES method (ARML Pvt. Ltd.) Sample Test Parameter Unit Test Result Only Rice Aluminum Content ppm 2.81 Rice in Al foil 3.29 Rice in chitosan coated Al foil 2.87 The chitosan biopolymer layer acted as a barrier and significantly reduced leaching of aluminum into food upto 0.42 ppm. Turhan et al. (2006) found out that there is 89–378% increase in aluminum content in red meats and 76–215% increase in poultry after cooking which is comparable with our results where leaching is more in aluminum wrapped food than raw food and prepared material (Turhan, 2006). Although there are various studies conducted on aluminum leaching into food from aluminum foil, this study is progressive in terms of including a biopolymer barrier to prevent leaching. 4. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE Food packaging is an ever-growing market in modern food industry as it plays a major role in protecting integrity of the food. Over the centuries, wide range of materials has been explored for food packaging considering abundance, safety and environmental impacts. aluminum as a substrate for food packaging has become popular due to its durability, low transportation cost and recyclability. Its barrier function against the migration of moisture, oxygen and other gases, and volatile aroma, as well as against the impact of light is generally higher than any plastic laminate material (Junianto., 2021). Chitosan, a polysaccharide originated from deacetylation of chitin is a potential food packaging material due to its particular physicochemical features, biodegradability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, good film-forming properties, chemical stability, and high reactivity (Lamberti., 2007). Aluminum being a widely used packaging material in food industries, its long term uptake due to leaching may cause accumulation and contribute to associated diseases. Hence, in our work, we emphasized on utilizing binding property of chitosan onto aluminum foil to act as a barrier preventing leaching into food. The reading obtained by the ICP-OES proved that there is significant reduction in the leaching of aluminum into the food when chitosan is coated on the aluminum foil. However, the result may vary depending on the food sample used, temperature and pH of food, thickness and porosity of chitosan film, thickness of aluminum foil, duration of food contact with the film and contamination during conduction and testing. Leaching can be further reduced by using adhesives along with chitosan solution to enhance binding to aluminum foil. This work could be further upscaled as a potential packaging material and can be used along with aluminum foil wide scale. Declarations The Authors declare as No Conflict of Interest Supporting information: No supporting information Funding Declaration: There was no funding for the research carried out Acknowledgement: We express our gratitude to the Principal, R V College of Engineering and Department of Biotechnology for the opportunity and guidance in the completion of the project. References Bégin, A., & Van Calsteren, M. R. (1999). Antimicrobial films produced from chitosan. International journal of biological macromolecules, 26(1), 63-67. Darbre, P. D., Pugazhendhi, D., & Mannello, F. (2011). aluminum and human breast diseases Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 105(11), 1484-1488. De Azeredo, H. M. C., BRITTO, D. D., & Assis, O. B. (2011). Chitosan edible films and coatings-a review. Dordevic, D., Buchtova, H., Jancikova, S., Macharackova, B., Jarosova, M., Vitez, T., & Kushkevych, I (2019).Aluminum contamination of food during culinary preparation: Case study with aluminum foil and consumers’ preferences. Food Science & Nutrition, 7(10), 3349-3360. El-Hefian, E. A., Nasef, M. M., & Yahaya, A. H. (2012). Preparation and characterization of chitosan/agar blended films: Part 1. Chemical structure and morphology. E-journal of Chemistry, 9(3), 1431-1439. Ertl, K., & Goessler, W. (2018). aluminum in foodstuff and the influence of aluminum foil used for food preparation or short time storage. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part B, 11(2), 153-159. Fermo, P., Soddu, G., Miani, A., & Comite, V. (2020). Quantification of the aluminum content leached into foods baked using aluminum foil. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(22), 8357. Habian, A. (2011). Hazards of aluminum packaging. Inan‐Eroglu, E., Gulec, A., & Ayaz, A. (2018). Determination of aluminum leaching into various baked meats with different types of foils by ICP‐MS. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 42(12), e13771. Joe P Kerry. (2012). aluminum foil packaging https://www.researchgate.net. Junianto, Mametapo, M. M. N., Aulia, A. F., Fitriyanti, & A’yun, N. Q. (2021). Chitosan Application as Edible Packaging Raw Material. Asian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Research,12(5),44-54. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajfar/2021/v12i530247 Kirwan, M. J., & Strawbridge, J. W. (2003). Plastics in food packaging. Food packaging technology, 1, 174-240. Lamberti, M., & Escher, F. (2007). aluminum foil as a food packaging material in comparison with other materials. Food Reviews International, 23(4), 407-433. Miteluț, A. C., Tănase, E. E., Popa, V. I., & Popa, M. E. (2015). Sustainable alternative for food packaging: Chitosan biopolymer—A review. AgroLife Scientific Journal, 4(2), 52-61. Pavoni, J. M. F., Luchese, C. L., & Tessaro, I. C. (2019). Impact of acid type for chitosan dissolution on the characteristics and biodegradability of cornstarch/chitosan-based films. International journal of biological macromolecules, 138, 693-703. Singh, T. P., Chatli, M. K., & Sahoo, J. (2015). Development of chitosan based edible films: process optimization using response surface methodology. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 52(5), 2530-2543. Tripathi, S., Mehrotra, G. K., & Dutta, P. K. (2008). Chitosan based antimicrobial films for food packaging applications. e-Polymers, 8(1). Turhan, S. (2006). aluminum contents in baked meats wrapped in aluminum foil. Meat Science, 74(4), 644-647. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4741465","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":328430951,"identity":"b0466abf-d35e-43cc-8f09-8c8ab87ff0f8","order_by":0,"name":"Neeta Shiva Kumar","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAv0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNCCCijNA0aEAWMDwxmStTC2IbQQBubszccf/Jx3L7G/vYHxwds2BhlzQlose44lNvZuK06cceYAs+HcNgYeywYCWgxu5Bg28G5LMDaQSGCT5gVqMThASMv99x8b/84BapF/wP6bOC03eBibeRsS5AwkGNiYidNyJs1wtsyxBDmJM4nNknPOSRCh5fjhBx/f1CTw8LcfPvjhTZmNPUEtSAAYpQwMEsSrHwWjYBSMglGAGwAAlv08tyF+iNMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"RV College of engineering","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Neeta","middleName":"Shiva","lastName":"Kumar","suffix":""},{"id":328430952,"identity":"d82512a5-2c22-4ba8-b7d4-15cb2c7f5c13","order_by":1,"name":"R Dhivyapriya","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"RV College of engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"R","middleName":"","lastName":"Dhivyapriya","suffix":""},{"id":328430953,"identity":"815cb05b-1c02-4db0-aec4-b3ce27b45b1f","order_by":2,"name":"B R Spoorthi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"RV College of engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"B","middleName":"R","lastName":"Spoorthi","suffix":""},{"id":328430954,"identity":"385093be-1c66-445b-95cc-841f2f5bf4a8","order_by":3,"name":"Spoorti Soratur","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"RV College of engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Spoorti","middleName":"","lastName":"Soratur","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-07-15 07:59:13","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4741465/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4741465/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":60703729,"identity":"8ed9f402-a812-4f38-9eb9-490cadaa4faa","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-19 18:53:43","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":17548,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eChitosan solution uniformly coated on Aluminum foil, incubated at 50°C for 48h.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4741465/v1/0078eb85af934fce7d87ea52.jpg"},{"id":60703747,"identity":"e8a123a3-1e10-44cb-b799-a5216ea223f4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-07-19 18:53:47","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":320222,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4741465/v1/b31daee9-c62e-4a69-9794-75340d630d7f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eReducing Aluminum Toxicity in Food Packaging Using Bio- Polymer\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[{"header":"1. INTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe food grown in fields as well as the processed ones need to be distributed to consumers located in faraway places. It is a necessity to protect the food from environmental factors without altering its physical and chemical nature during transport. Hence food packaging becomes an evident factor. The food packaging materials has to be chosen selectively based on its health safety, energy, material costs, environmental impact and waste management processes. Food packaging has applications in maintaining the nature of processed food and improving the shelf life. There are three kinds of significant environmental influence on food physically, biologically and chemically. Chemical protection is required against light, moisture, exposure to different gases mostly oxygen. Glass and metals can be used as chemical barriers. Biological protection is required against microorganisms, insects, pests and animals. It helps in delaying ripening and senescence. It usually retains odour within package, prevent access to the materials and maintain optimum internal environment. Physical protection provides protection from causation of mechanical damage. It prevents damage produced during shipping and transportation like crushing, vibrations etc.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHence exploration of materials for food packaging with required properties is need of the hour. Glass having odourless property, chemically inert serves as a food packaging material. It maintains the quality of food and flavour because it is impermeable to the gases and vapours. It can withstand high temperature and also is acid- resistant. Brittle nature of glass limits its applications in spite of recyclability. Paper and paperboard products although is not a perfect packaging materials for long term usage, is used in primary packaging impregnated with waxes, resins etc.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePlastics are manufactured using poly condensation reaction or poly addition of monomer units. They can be moulded into different shapes, as sheets and offer flexibility. They are cost effective, light weight and chemically resistant. Most commonly used ones are polyolefins, polyesters, polystyrenes etc. It is disadvantageous due to differential permeability to the lights, gases and vapours and non-biodegradability.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMetals such as Aluminum, tin free steel, laminated and metallized films, tin plate are widely used examples in food packaging. Aluminum which is commonly used in cans, foils, MLPs is a lightweight metal derived from bauxite ore. To improve its strength, magnesium and manganese are used more often. Due to crucial properties like resistance to corrosion, barrier against air, temperature, moisture due to presence of Aluminum oxide coating naturally, lightweight, flexibility, malleability and recyclability, easily separable for other materials due to non-magnetic nature, it is used in packaging of soft-drink, sea-food and hot foods (Kirwan., 2003). Despite wide applications of Aluminum in food packaging industry, studies have shown to cause ill effects due to Aluminum toxicity through long term intake. In this study, Aluminum leaching into food thereby Aluminum toxicity was aimed to reduce by using chitosan biopolymer as a barrier.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eALUMINUM AS A FOOD PACKAGING MATERIAL\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAluminum foil is prepared by converting Aluminum metal into very thin sheets by rolling which is immediately followed by annealing so that it is folded tightly. It is available in wide range of thickness where thinner ones are used to wrap foods such as rolls and thicker ones are used for trays. It provides same barrier properties to air, odour, light and moisture as in case of Aluminum. It also has dead fold property which means once fixed the Aluminum foil takes the shape of the container. It can combine with many components like paper, plastic, adhesives etc. (Kirwan., 2003; Kerry, 2012).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBesides many advantages Aluminum provides there are several disadvantages that they are not suitable for cooking of foods in it above 150\u0026deg;C since it loses its strength as well as characteristics. Foil can also be punctured and torn out easily. This causes vapour and water permeability (Kerry, 2012).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHabian et al. (2011) on their historical research in order to check feasibility as a food packaging found out that increased Aluminum content relates to several diseases like Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s and Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s disease, renal failure, dementia and bone disease etc. It is stated that Aluminum enters the brain by binding to a protein called transferrin which is an iron carrier. The majority of Aluminum entering body binds to transferrin receptor rich region of brain which is also found to be regions vulnerable in Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s disease. They mentioned that Aluminum cookwares when used to cook food rich in acid content can increase metal leaching. Epoxy resins and plastics were used as barriers to prevent Aluminum leaching. But it caused epoxy resin or bisphenol A poisoning in the body (Habian., 2011).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAluminum content can be exposed to human breasts through various sources including diet, personal care products and Aluminum based antiperspirant salts through dermal application. The increase of Aluminum in type 1 human breast cyst fluids made to further investigate whether intake has any biological impact. The chronic exposure of Aluminum showed to inhibit Na\u003csup\u003e+\u003c/sup\u003e /K\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;ATPase activity. Also it was found that the presence of Aluminum can lead to iron dyshomeostatis. Sources other than personal care products and underarm cosmetics, Aluminum in food and water were found to be major sources of exposure to the breast cancer. Further investigation to link between Aluminum intake and development of breast cancer is warranted wider to find whether Aluminum is found play any role with other environmental compounds (Darbre., 2011).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTurhan et al. (2006) conducted experiments to detect Aluminum content in different kinds of meat like beef, water buffalo, mutton, turkey and chicken wrapped in Aluminum foil. Meat were cooked in electric oven in different conditions like 150\u0026deg;C for 60min, 200\u0026deg;C for 40min and 250\u0026deg;C for 20min. Both raw and cooked samples each 3g were taken and dried for 4h at 125\u0026deg;C and heated at 500\u0026deg;C for 6\u0026ndash;8 hrs until ash was obtained. The acid digested samples were cooled, filtered and stored in glass jars for analysis using AAS at 309.3nm. It was evident that the maximum increase in Aluminum content was in cooked food kept at highest temperature. So, they concluded that temperature over time acts as a major factor in leaching. Although there were traces of leaching they state that it is tolerable since provisional tolerable daily intake of Aluminum according to WHO is 1mg/kg body weight per week. However, long term accumulation of Aluminum in the body may cause ill effects (Turhan., 2006).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow pH, temperature and salt content in the food are the factors that affect the extent of Aluminum into food. Fermo et al. (2020) studied Aluminum content in meat and fish that are cooked in pyrex pan, wrapped in aluminum foil and wrapped in Aluminum foil along with seasoning materials. They were cooked for 1 hour at 180\u0026deg;C. these samples as well as raw samples were digested in 1:3 HNO3: HCl on hot plate for 1hr then diluted. The samples were analysed using ICP-OES and the surface of foil was studied using SEM-EDS. The result showed that the Aluminum content was more in fish and meat wrapped in aluminum and seasoning material than raw and other two samples however for beef it was more in only aluminum wrapped food. The fat content may play a role here (Fermo., 2020). Inan-Eroglu et al. (2018) wanted to assess aluminum content leached into different types of meats(beef, chicken and mutton) that are heated at different conditions as 150\u0026deg;C for 60 min, 200\u0026deg;C for 40 min, 250\u0026deg;C for 20 min and in different type of foils. One is normal aluminum foil whereas other is aluminum foil whose one side is paper. They acid digested the food using HNO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e in microwave digester and diluted to analyse Al content using ICP-MS. They concluded that leaching was more in aluminum foil as compared to with that of one having paper. They also observed that aluminum leaching is dependent on fat content, pH and cooking temperature and time irrespective of type of foil used (Inan-Eroglu.m 2018). In their studies, Dordevic et al. (2019) used different types of meats (beef, chicken and mutton) and Ertl et al. (2018) used marinated and non-marinated samples and found that Aluminum leaching was not as significant as compared to daily viable limit of consumption (Dordevic., 2019; Ertl., 2018). From different studies conducted using wide range of food samples, it is evident that long term intake of Aluminum leached due to usage in food packaging can lead to accumulation and potentially contribute to associated diseases.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eCHITOSAN: A POTENTIAL BIOPOLYMER FOR FOOD PACKAGING\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eActive packaging is a type of packaging which includes the interaction between environment, package and product which is aimed at increasing shelf life and maintaining shelf life and quality of the product. Environmental concerns about packaging materials lead to usage of renewable resources as an alternative source. Biopolymers have been extensively studied in last decades which incorporate special properties like antifungal, antioxidants and antimicrobial activity (Mitelut., 2015; B\u0026eacute;gin., 1999). They act as a barrier against gases and vapours. Some of them are cellulose, chitin, lipid and protein based polymers. Chitosan stands next to cellulose in abundance. They are obtained by de-acetylation of chitin which is majorly available from shells of shrimp, crab, sea weeds etc. Since they are the by- product of sea-food industries, the cost of production is economically feasible. They are biodegradable, non-toxic and have excellent strength and elongation properties (Singh., 2015). Antimicrobial property of chitosan depends on external factors like target organism, pH and also internal factors like de-acetylation, molecular weight etc. the long positive charge present in chitosan due to the presence of amino acids, interact with negative charges in cell surface of target organisms thereby causing disruption and leakage of proteins and contents of cell. Since the number of protonated amino acid increases with degree of de-acetylation, this acts as factor affecting antimicrobial property (Mitelut., 2015). Different types of chitosan films can be prepared using different methodologies. Chitosan can be dissolved using acetic acid and made as film. It can be blended with agar/cellulose/starch so that strength of material is increased. Many additives like potassium sorbate and nisin or edible oils like garlic oil can be used to increase antimicrobial property of film. The antimicrobial tests are generally conducted using agar diffusion method where certain amount of inoculums of organisms like Escherichia coli, bacillus cereus, listeria monocytogenes and staphylococcus aureus are seeded on it. The films are made into small discs and placed on media and they observed zone of inhibition (Tripathi., 2008; El-Hefian., 2012). B\u0026eacute;gin et al. (1999) dissolved chitosan in 2% (w/v) acid like formic, citric, acetic and lactic acids along with HCl. They found out that the film thickness was more in ctric acid and lactic acid as compared to acetic acid containing films. Although they are thicker, they are brittle. Hence acetic acid is preferred while forming films (B\u0026eacute;gin., 1999). Singh et al. (2015) carried out optimization of process of chitosan film formation using different concentrations of chitosan level, glycerol level and drying temperature in order to get different responses like thickness, solubility, density, water vapor permeability etc. they used chitosan 1.5- 2% and dissolved in 1%(w/v) acetic acid and glycerol 0.5-1% which acts as plasticizer. They were stirred on hot plate magnetic stirrer at 90\u0026deg;C and hen dried at varied temperatures. They found out that 2% w/v chitosan, 0.75% glycerol and drying temperature of 40\u0026deg;C for 48hrs were optimum conditions for development of good edible film (Singh., 2015).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. MATERIALS AND METHODS","content":"\u003cp\u003eAluminum foil (thickness 0.0023mm) and Chitosan (low MW extrapure, 10-150m.Pas, 90% DA) and Glycerol (glycerin, anhydrous, extrapure AR, MW 92.09) purchased from Sisco Research Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. Acetic acid glacial 99- 100%\u0026nbsp;and\u0026nbsp;Nitric\u0026nbsp;Acid\u0026nbsp;(min.\u0026nbsp;69%\u0026nbsp;GR)\u0026nbsp;purchased from Merck Specialities Pvt. Ltd.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003e2.1\u0026nbsp;Chitosan Coated aluminum Foil Preparation\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChitosan coated aluminum foil was prepared by coating chitosan solution on aluminum foil wrapped on the 15x15cm glass plate evenly. Chitosan solution was prepared by dissolving Chitosan (2% w/v) in\u0026nbsp;aqueous solution containing acetic acid\u0026nbsp;(1% v/v) and glycerol\u0026nbsp;(0.75% v/v) as a plasticizer and heated in hot plate magnetic stirrer at 90º C for 10 minutes. The solution was cooled to room temperature. The prepared chitosan solution was coated onto aluminum foil using Hand Lay-Up method and incubated at 50ºC for\u0026nbsp;48 hours (Singh., 2015).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ea.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Sample\u0026nbsp;Preparation\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRice (40 g) taken as sample was cooked upto approximately 60ºC. Food samples were wrapped in only aluminum foil which served as control\u0026nbsp;and wrapped\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;prepared material\u0026nbsp;as well, left still for 2 hours in room temperature. 2g of wrapped samples along with only rice were digested with 65% HNO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e. For the food digestion nitric acid is used as all the nitric salts are soluble in water and H\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eSO\u003csub\u003e4\u003c/sub\u003e or HCl are not used since they produce sulphate or chloride salts which are not soluble in water. The samples after digestion were centrifuged at 5000 rpm for 10 minutes. Using Whatman filter paper-1 filtrate is obtained which was analysed for Al content using ICP-OES (Analytical Research \u0026amp; Metallurgical Laboratories Pvt. Ltd).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION","content":"\u003cp\u003eChitosan solution was prepared by using acetic acid instead of lactic acid, which is structurally more rigid with reduced tendency to deform (Pavoni., 2019). Chitosan solution coated on aluminum foil by hand lay-up method was spread uniformly and found to be non-porous to significant extent as evident in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe thickness of aluminum foil and Chitosan coated on aluminum foil measured with micrometer were found to be 0.023 and 0.024 mm respectively.\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpon wrapping the hot food sample (60\u0026ordm;C) in the chitosan coated aluminum foil, the coated chitosan layer was found to stay intact. No peeling of chitosan layer from aluminum foil was observed. However, temperature of food is an evident factor that contributes to extent of peeling of chitosan layer.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ealuminum content in each sample including only rice; rice wrapped in aluminum foil and rice wrapped in prepared material analysed using APHA/ICP-OES were found to be 2.81, 3.29 and\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.87 ppm respectively as mentioned in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChemical Analysis of Samples for Al content by APHA/ICP-OES method (ARML Pvt. Ltd.)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSample\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTest Parameter\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnit\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTest Result\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOnly Rice\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAluminum Content\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eppm\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRice in Al foil\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.29\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRice in chitosan coated Al foil\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.87\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe chitosan biopolymer layer acted as a barrier and significantly reduced leaching of aluminum into food upto 0.42 ppm. Turhan et al. (2006) found out that there is 89\u0026ndash;378% increase in aluminum content in red meats and 76\u0026ndash;215% increase in poultry after cooking which is comparable with our results where leaching is more in aluminum wrapped food than raw food and prepared material (Turhan, 2006). Although there are various studies conducted on aluminum leaching into food from aluminum foil, this study is progressive in terms of including a biopolymer barrier to prevent leaching.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE","content":"\u003cp\u003eFood packaging is an ever-growing market in modern food industry as it plays a major role in protecting integrity of the food. Over the centuries, wide range of materials has been explored for food packaging considering abundance, safety and environmental impacts. aluminum as a substrate for food packaging has become popular due to its durability, low transportation cost and recyclability. Its barrier function against the migration of moisture, oxygen and other gases, and volatile aroma, as well as against the impact of light is generally higher than any plastic laminate material (Junianto., 2021). Chitosan, a polysaccharide originated from deacetylation of chitin is a potential food packaging material due to its particular physicochemical features, biodegradability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, good film-forming properties, chemical stability, and high reactivity (Lamberti., 2007).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAluminum being a widely used packaging material in food industries, its long term uptake due to leaching may cause accumulation and contribute to associated diseases. Hence, in our work, we emphasized on utilizing binding property of chitosan onto aluminum foil to act as a barrier preventing leaching into food. The reading obtained by the ICP-OES proved that there is significant reduction in the leaching of aluminum into the food when chitosan is coated on the aluminum foil. However, the result may vary depending on the food sample used, temperature and pH of food, thickness and porosity of chitosan film, thickness of aluminum foil, duration of food contact with the film and contamination during conduction and testing. Leaching can be further reduced by using adhesives along with chitosan solution to enhance binding to aluminum foil. This work could be further upscaled as a potential packaging material and can be used along with aluminum foil wide scale.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Authors declare as No Conflict of Interest\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSupporting information: No supporting information\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFunding Declaration: There was no funding for the research carried out\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcknowledgement: We express our gratitude to the Principal, R V College of Engineering and Department of Biotechnology for the opportunity and guidance in the completion of the project.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eB\u0026eacute;gin, A., \u0026amp; Van Calsteren, M. R. (1999). Antimicrobial films produced from chitosan. International journal of biological macromolecules, 26(1), 63-67.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDarbre, P. D., Pugazhendhi, D., \u0026amp; Mannello, F. (2011). aluminum and human breast diseases Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, 105(11), 1484-1488.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDe Azeredo, H. M. C., BRITTO, D. D., \u0026amp; Assis, O. B. (2011). Chitosan edible films and coatings-a review.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDordevic, D., Buchtova, H., Jancikova, S., Macharackova, B., Jarosova, M., Vitez, T., \u0026amp; Kushkevych, I (2019).Aluminum contamination of food during culinary preparation: Case study with aluminum foil and consumers\u0026rsquo; preferences. Food Science \u0026amp; Nutrition, 7(10), 3349-3360.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEl-Hefian, E. A., Nasef, M. M., \u0026amp; Yahaya, A. H. (2012). Preparation and characterization of chitosan/agar blended films: Part 1. Chemical structure and morphology. E-journal of Chemistry, 9(3), 1431-1439.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErtl, K., \u0026amp; Goessler, W. (2018). aluminum in foodstuff and the influence of aluminum foil used for food preparation or short time storage. Food Additives \u0026amp; Contaminants: Part B, 11(2), 153-159.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFermo, P., Soddu, G., Miani, A., \u0026amp; Comite, V. (2020). Quantification of the aluminum content leached into foods baked using aluminum foil. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(22), 8357.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHabian, A. (2011). Hazards of aluminum packaging. Inan‐Eroglu, E., Gulec, A., \u0026amp; Ayaz, A. (2018). Determination of aluminum leaching into various baked meats with different types of foils by ICP‐MS. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 42(12), e13771.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJoe P Kerry. (2012). aluminum foil packaging https://www.researchgate.net. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJunianto, Mametapo, M. M. N., Aulia, A. F., Fitriyanti, \u0026amp; A\u0026rsquo;yun, N. Q. (2021). Chitosan Application as Edible Packaging Raw Material. Asian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Research,12(5),44-54. https://doi.org/10.9734/ajfar/2021/v12i530247\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKirwan, M. J., \u0026amp; Strawbridge, J. W. (2003). Plastics in food packaging. Food packaging technology, 1, 174-240.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLamberti, M., \u0026amp; Escher, F. (2007). aluminum foil as a food packaging material in comparison with other materials. Food Reviews International, 23(4), 407-433.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMiteluț, A. C., Tănase, E. E., Popa, V. I., \u0026amp; Popa, M. E. (2015). Sustainable alternative for food packaging: Chitosan biopolymer\u0026mdash;A review. AgroLife Scientific Journal, 4(2), 52-61.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePavoni, J. M. F., Luchese, C. L., \u0026amp; Tessaro, I. C. (2019). Impact of acid type for chitosan dissolution on the characteristics and biodegradability of cornstarch/chitosan-based films. International journal of biological macromolecules, 138, 693-703.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSingh, T. P., Chatli, M. K., \u0026amp; Sahoo, J. (2015). Development of chitosan based edible films: process optimization using response surface methodology. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 52(5), 2530-2543.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTripathi, S., Mehrotra, G. K., \u0026amp; Dutta, P. K. (2008). Chitosan based antimicrobial films for food packaging applications. e-Polymers, 8(1).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTurhan, S. (2006). aluminum contents in baked meats wrapped in aluminum foil. Meat Science, 74(4), 644-647.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Food packaging, Aluminum leaching, Aluminum toxicity, chitosan bio-polymer, ICP-OES","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4741465/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4741465/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn the era of modern food industry, food packaging has gained a lot of interest that helps in protecting food from environmental factors and in maintaining the integrity of food. Aluminum, being widely used material in food packaging has been used as containers, foils and pouches in packaging of hot foods, snacks and beverages. Many studies have been conducted which show that there is an increase in Aluminum content in brains of patients with Parkinson\u0026rsquo;s and Alzheimer\u0026rsquo;s diseases. It has been suspected that leaching of Aluminum content from the food packaging is one of the main reasons. Hence in this work, a biopolymer barrier has been used in reduction of Aluminum leaching into food.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChitosan, being a biopolymer, is non-toxic and biodegradable which has film forming and antimicrobial properties can be used as a barrier in order to prevent the leaching of Aluminum into the food. Hot rice (approx. 60\u0026deg;C) was used as sample for the experiment. Hot rice was wrapped in Aluminum foil and chitosan coated Aluminum foil for 90 minutes. Aluminum content was detected using inductively coupled plasma- optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) for only rice; rice in Aluminum foil and rice in chitosan coated Aluminum foil and found to be 2.81ppm, 3.29ppm and 2.87ppm respectively. The result obtained implied that chitosan acts as a barrier thereby inferring that chitosan coated Aluminum foil can be used to reduce leaching of Aluminum to the food and hence minimise the ill effects of Aluminum intake to the body.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Reducing Aluminum Toxicity in Food Packaging Using Bio- Polymer","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-07-19 18:53:38","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4741465/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"e7e5750b-3407-4366-a0d6-f189a68ff509","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 19th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-07-19T18:53:38+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-07-19 18:53:38","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4741465","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4741465","identity":"rs-4741465","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}