Abstract
Food corruption and spoilage caused by food-borne pathogens and microorganisms is a serious problem. As a result, the demand for antibacterial drugs in food packaging is growing. In this review, biodegradable and non-biodegradable materials for food packaging are discussed based on their properties. Most importantly, antibacterial agents are essential to inhibit the growth of bacteria in food. To keep food fresh and prolong the shelf life, different kinds of antibacterial agents were used. The composition and application of natural antibacterial agents and synthetic antibacterial agents are discussed. Compared with natural antibacterial agents, synthetic antibacterial agents have the advantages of low cost and high activity, but their toxicity is usually higher than that of natural antibacterial agents. Finally, future development of antimicrobial food packaging is proposed. It is an urgent problem for researchers to design and synthesize antibacterial drugs with high efficiency and low toxicity.
Highlights
Food decays when it is exposed to an open environment, such as during postprocessing, distribution, and storage
Food spoilage and deterioration are mainly caused by foodborne pathogens and other microorganisms, such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, Yersinia enterocolitica, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, which mainly grow on food surfaces; there are some microorganisms growing in the volume of polymers throughout the pores and gels. [1,2]
The antimicrobial abilities of food packaging depend on antimicrobial agents, which can be classified as natural antibacterial agents and synthetic antibacterial agents based on their sources
Summary
Food decays when it is exposed to an open environment, such as during postprocessing, distribution, and storage. Some of the most promising active packaging materials are antimicrobial films, which can be prepared by incorporating synthetic or natural antimicrobial agents into films or directly coating them on food [7]. Antimicrobial agents are often incorporated into films to develop antimicrobial food packaging. The antimicrobial abilities of food packaging depend on antimicrobial agents, which can be classified as natural antibacterial agents and synthetic antibacterial agents based on their sources. With increasing food production and demand for packaging, natural antimicrobial materials tend to be insufficient. The main antibacterial components in food packaging are synthetic organic materials, which mainly contain ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), fungicides, parabens and other chemicals. This review introduces polymeric film-based antibacterial packaging and focuses on natural antimicrobial packaging and synthetic organic antimicrobial packaging, according to the source of antimicrobial agents. Other studies on the microbiological and physical properties of antibacterial packaging materials are discussed according to the types of antimicrobial agents in the following text
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