Antimicrobial food packaging integrating polysaccharide-based substrates with green antimicrobial agents: A sustainable path

Food spoilage and waste, human and animal poisoning, and even death caused by foodborne microorganisms remain extensive concerns in food safety. The global demand for functional, eco-friendly, and efficient antimicrobial food packaging is increasing. However, the bacteriostatic or bactericidal effects of most conventional food packaging display limited action, and their major components are petrochemical materials (non-renewable, non-biodegradable, and not environmentally friendly), and the current target microorganisms easily acquire drug-resistant. Therefore, the development of more effective, sustainable and safe antimicrobial materials has become a research hotspot in food packaging. This paper systematically reviews the latest research on antimicrobial active packaging materials combining renewable and biodegradable polysaccharide-based substrates with green organic guanidine-based polymers, inorganic chlorine dioxide, or natural antimicrobial agents (such as essential oils, other plant extracts, chitosan, propolis, protein, bacteriocin, probiotics, and bacteriophages). The compositions, characteristics, antimicrobial mechanisms, and food applications of the various types of sustainable antimicrobial materials are updated, and future trends are explored. Although they show impressive properties, further studies are required to confirm the safety and efficacy of these materials as a majority of the studies have been conducted under laboratory conditions. This review provides theoretical and technical support for the development of new antimicrobial food packaging and extending the shelf-life of foods.