15.1 Introduction
Microbial growth on food products leads to spoilage of many foods. During storage,
the growth of undesirable microorganisms should be controlled either by coating
antimicrobial substances on the food surface or incorporating these substances into
food packaging materials. Employment of active packaging happens to be a new
approach in food preservation, thereby enhancing the safety margin, reassuring the
high quality of products, and incorporating antimicrobial agents in films based on
polymers can be used as active packaging (Reyhan and Ozlem 2015; Ishrat et al.
2018). Antimicrobial packaging stands as one of the unconventional packaging
concepts that tend to inhibit the growth of microorganisms on foods, maintaining
its safety and freshness. Also, it is an alternative to non-thermal process that prevents
the growth of heat-resistant microorganisms and their spores (Barbiroli et al. 2012;
Hatice et al. 2019). On grounds of its potential to provide safety and quality benefits,
film based antimicrobial packaging is drawing attention from researchers (Amin et
al. 2018). Antimicrobial agents when incorporated into packaging materials inhibit
the growth of microorganisms at the surface which is much prone to spoilage and
contamination. This approach efficiently lowers the need for adding large quantities
of antimicrobials into the bulk of foods (Koutsoumanis and Skandamis 2013).
Earlier researches suggest that a controlled release from the packaging film to the
food surface is more advantageous over dipping and spraying (Buonocore et al.
2003; Broek et al. 2015). In this approach, natural or chemical antimicrobial agents
incorporated into the packaging system/polymer ensure active packaging, thus
limiting/preventing the growth of microbes by reducing their growth rate or
extending their lag phase. Figure 15.1 illustrates seven types of antimicrobial food
packaging system that are currently in vogue. Different types of ingredients along
with polymeric materials are generally incorporated into the packaging system for
development of biofilm based active packaging system. This extends shelf life
besides improving the safety of the product. Due to the increase in demand for
preservative-free products and less processed food, low levels of preservatives
should be applied to packaging as they come in contact with food or other natural
preservatives. Development of antimicrobial food packaging materials by
incorporating natural antimicrobial agents into a polymeric material is a novel
approach in food processing/packing industry. A thorough study of the existing
works of literature specifies that natural antimicrobial agents such as spice volatile
oils (black pepper, sage, thyme, rosemary, garlic, etc.), plant extracts (grape seed
extract, olive leaf extract, etc.), organic acids, viz. citric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid,
etc.), and bacteriocins (lysozyme, colicin, nisin, pediocin, etc.) are used to produce
antimicrobial packaging materials (Fernandez-Pan et al. 2014; Marta et al. 2014;
Rabin and Salam 2014).
310
B. Mishra et al.
Microbial growth on food products leads to spoilage of many foods. During storage,
the growth of undesirable microorganisms should be controlled either by coating
antimicrobial substances on the food surface or incorporating these substances into
food packaging materials. Employment of active packaging happens to be a new
approach in food preservation, thereby enhancing the safety margin, reassuring the
high quality of products, and incorporating antimicrobial agents in films based on
polymers can be used as active packaging (Reyhan and Ozlem 2015; Ishrat et al.
2018). Antimicrobial packaging stands as one of the unconventional packaging
concepts that tend to inhibit the growth of microorganisms on foods, maintaining
its safety and freshness. Also, it is an alternative to non-thermal process that prevents
the growth of heat-resistant microorganisms and their spores (Barbiroli et al. 2012;
Hatice et al. 2019). On grounds of its potential to provide safety and quality benefits,
film based antimicrobial packaging is drawing attention from researchers (Amin et
al. 2018). Antimicrobial agents when incorporated into packaging materials inhibit
the growth of microorganisms at the surface which is much prone to spoilage and
contamination. This approach efficiently lowers the need for adding large quantities
of antimicrobials into the bulk of foods (Koutsoumanis and Skandamis 2013).
Earlier researches suggest that a controlled release from the packaging film to the
food surface is more advantageous over dipping and spraying (Buonocore et al.
2003; Broek et al. 2015). In this approach, natural or chemical antimicrobial agents
incorporated into the packaging system/polymer ensure active packaging, thus
limiting/preventing the growth of microbes by reducing their growth rate or
extending their lag phase. Figure 15.1 illustrates seven types of antimicrobial food
packaging system that are currently in vogue. Different types of ingredients along
with polymeric materials are generally incorporated into the packaging system for
development of biofilm based active packaging system. This extends shelf life
besides improving the safety of the product. Due to the increase in demand for
preservative-free products and less processed food, low levels of preservatives
should be applied to packaging as they come in contact with food or other natural
preservatives. Development of antimicrobial food packaging materials by
incorporating natural antimicrobial agents into a polymeric material is a novel
approach in food processing/packing industry. A thorough study of the existing
works of literature specifies that natural antimicrobial agents such as spice volatile
oils (black pepper, sage, thyme, rosemary, garlic, etc.), plant extracts (grape seed
extract, olive leaf extract, etc.), organic acids, viz. citric acid, acetic acid, lactic acid,
etc.), and bacteriocins (lysozyme, colicin, nisin, pediocin, etc.) are used to produce
antimicrobial packaging materials (Fernandez-Pan et al. 2014; Marta et al. 2014;
Rabin and Salam 2014).
310
B. Mishra et al.