Fabrication and testing of edible films incorporated with ZnO nanoparticles to enhance the shelf life of bread

On daily basis, large amount of food is spoiled due to various biological, physical, and chemical conditions which cause food-borne diseases. So, it is a great challenge to preserve food to meet the nutritional demands. This research was conducted to increase the shelf life of food items by using edible films embedded with nanoparticles. ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by a Particle size analyzer and FTIR. The gelatin and agar films with ZnO NPs were prepared by the solution casting method and characterized by FTIR and SEM. The size of synthesized nanoparticles was around 62–70 nm. FTIR analysis was used to detect the functional groups and the spectra showed peaks at 626 cm−1 and 596 cm−1 which were characteristic peaks of ZnO nanoparticles. The antibacterial activity was high against bacteria. The bread was chose as a food sample to access the effectiveness of bio nanocomposite films for food packaging. Different parameters, like: weight loss, pH determination, microbial analysis, and sensory analysis were checked after regular intervals. The weight loss of bread samples with nanocomposite films packaging was lower than other films at the end of storage. The microbial analysis showed that the packing of samples with nanocomposite films lowered the bacterial growth in them. In conclusion, the prepared nanocomposite films can be recommended as a packaging material for bread samples to increase its quality.