Abstract
This review presents a perspective on the research trends and solutions from recent years in the domain of antimicrobial packaging materials. The antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities can be induced by the main polymer used for packaging or by addition of various components from natural agents (bacteriocins, essential oils, natural extracts, etc.) to synthetic agents, both organic and inorganic (Ag, ZnO, TiO2 nanoparticles, synthetic antibiotics etc.). The general trend for the packaging evolution is from the inert and polluting plastic waste to the antimicrobial active, biodegradable or edible, biopolymer film packaging. Like in many domains this transition is an evolution rather than a revolution, and changes are coming in small steps. Changing the public perception and industry focus on the antimicrobial packaging solutions will enhance the shelf life and provide healthier food, thus diminishing the waste of agricultural resources, but will also reduce the plastic pollution generated by humankind as most new polymers used for packaging are from renewable sources and are biodegradable. Polysaccharides (like chitosan, cellulose and derivatives, starch etc.), lipids and proteins (from vegetal or animal origin), and some other specific biopolymers (like polylactic acid or polyvinyl alcohol) have been used as single component or in blends to obtain antimicrobial packaging materials. Where the package’s antimicrobial and antioxidant activities need a larger spectrum or a boost, certain active substances are embedded, encapsulated, coated, grafted into or onto the polymeric film. This review tries to cover the latest updates on the antimicrobial packaging, edible or not, using as support traditional and new polymers, with emphasis on natural compounds.
Highlights
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, statistical data indicate that about one-third of the produced food is lost or wasted each year because to shelf life expiring, alteration, or spoilage due to microbial activity
First type is represented by the packaging materials with direct contact between the antimicrobial surface and the preserved food, in which the active agents can migrate into the food
The edible films for fruits, cheese, and meat products are usually based on natural, abundant, abundant, cheap, edible polymers, which can effectively enhance the quality of the food and at the same time can reduce the quantity of foodstuff that that is is altered
Summary
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, statistical data indicate that about one-third of the produced food is lost or wasted each year because to shelf life expiring, alteration, or spoilage due to microbial activity. These polymers are nonbiodegradable and worldwide they have already raised a lot of environmental concerns regarding short- and long-term pollution [13,14,15,16,17,18,19] These two factors are putting an increasing pressure on food industry to develop new types of antimicrobial packaging materials, mainly based on natural, renewable sources, or biopolymers that are environmentally safe. First type is represented by the packaging materials with direct contact between the antimicrobial surface and the preserved food, in which the active agents can migrate into the food.
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