Potato Chips Byproducts as Feedstocks for Developing Active Starch-Based Films with Potential for Cheese Packaging

The potato chip industry generates brownish frying residues, which are usually landfilled. While spent frying oil has value as biodiesel, the defatted brownish water-soluble extract (BrE) does not yet have an application. In this work, it was hypothesized that BrE can be a source of compounds for active packaging. BrE is composed of carbohydrates (66.9%), protein (5.7%), and a small amount of phenolics and esterified fatty acids. When incorporated into starch-based formulations and casted, BrE at 5%, 10%, and 15% w/w (dry starch weight) conferred a yellowish coloration while maintaining the transparency of neat films. The BrE increased the films’ traction resistance, elasticity, and antioxidant activity while decreasing their hydrophilicity. Furthermore, starch/15% BrE-based films showed diminished water vapor and good UV-light barrier properties. Their contact with sliced cheese did not change the products’ hardness during storage (14 days). Weight loss of the cheese was observed after 7 days of storage, stabilizing at 6.52%, contrary to the cheese packed in polyamide (PA)/polyethylene (PE), already used in food packaging. The cheese packed in the starch/15% BrE-based films showed a significant yellowish darkening and lower content of volatile oxidation products compared to the PA/PE. Therefore, BrE revealed to have compounds with the potential to tune the performance of starch-based films for food packaging.