Food applications of active packaging EVOH films containing cyclodextrins for the preferential scavenging of undesirable compounds

Novel ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) films containing beta-cyclodextrins (βCD) with potential application in active food packaging have been tested as materials for the preferential retention of undesired food components. The films were immersed on pasteurized milk and UHT milk and stored at 4 and 23 °C, respectively. The films containing βCD presented a significant reduction in cholesterol concentration, achieving a 23% reduction in UHT milk exposed to EVOH films containing 30% βCD. Despite the immobilization of the βCD and the large molecular size of cholesterol, 15% of the βCD molecules added to the films were involved in the formation of βCD/cholesterol inclusion complexes. In another set of experiments, the films were used to reduce the presence of aldehydes (substances which develop as a result of oxidative processes) in packaged fried peanuts. The films containing βCD brought a significant reduction in hexanal, reaching a 50% decrease over short periods (1–5 weeks). At longer storage times (10 weeks) the retention capacity of the developed films was exhausted and no differences were observed between the samples.