Antimicrobial bio-inspired active packaging materials for shelf life and safety development: A review

Foodstuffs are highly vulnerable to contamination caused by microbial pathogens, thereby causing food-borne diseases. Earlier, plastic packaging materials have been in frequent use in order to protect from pathogen infection and increase the shelf life of foodstuffs. However, there remains a controversy about the use of plastic due to its non-degradable nature and eco-toxicity. Bio-polymer based materials recently gained attention in the food industry as an alternative because of their potent antimicrobial and non-toxic nature. This review provides an overview of the application of bio-based active materials for designing an ideal antimicrobial packaging film to inhibit the growth of food-borne pathogens. Specifically, it highlights the various materials that go into making bio-based packaging material, desirable properties for an ideal packaging material, its possible interaction mechanism with the pathogens, and concludes with a case study on muscle foods. Bio-polymers reinforced with active materials such as essential oils, peptides, proteins, nanoparticles make for excellent bio-based active packaging materials. These show a broad range of antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella sp., and Staphylococcus aureus. Multiple mechanisms are involved during the interaction of packaging films with these pathogens viz. generation of reactive oxygen species, disturbing the cell membrane permeability, inhibiting the enzyme activity. The bio-based polymer packaging film can be a better substitute for plastic-based food packaging material in terms of degradability and cost-effectiveness. The current research scenario suggests a future commercial level dominance of bio-based food packaging materials in the active packaging material industry.