Mechanical and barrier properties of egg albumen films

Films were cast and dried from heated, alkaline aqueous egg albumen solutions containing glycerin (GLY) at 30, 40, or 50% w/w of protein, polyethylene glycol (PEG) at 50 or 60%,or sorbitol (S) at 50 or 60% as plasticizers. PEG-plasticized (60%) films also;were prepared by substituting 10, 30, 50, or 70% of albumen with yolk solids. Film tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (E), water vapor permeability (WVP), and Hunter color values were measured. At a plasticizer content of 50%, films with 8 had the lowest WVP while films with PEG had the greatest E. S- and PEG-plasticized films had greater TS: than GLY-plasticized films. Yolk solids decreased film TS, E, and WVP while increasing film yellowness.