Design of Polymeric Films for Antioxidant Active Food Packaging

Abstract

Antioxidant active food packaging can extend the shelf life of foods by retarding the rate of oxidation reactions of food components. Although significant advances in the design and development of polymeric packaging films loaded with antioxidants have been achieved over the last several decades, few of these films have successfully been translated from the laboratory to commercial applications. This article presents a snapshot of the latest advances in the design and applications of polymeric films for antioxidant active food packaging. It is hoped that this article will offer insights into the optimisation of the performance of polymeric films for food packaging purposes and will facilitate the translation of those polymeric films from the laboratory to commercial applications in the food industry.

Keywords: antioxidants; films; food packaging; food preservation; oxidation; polymers; quality control.

Figure 1

Images for fresh beef packaged with different films under modified atmosphere for 14 days at 2 ± 1 °C: (a) an uncoated OPP film, (b) an AC/S-coated OPP film with the content of EU being 0.32 ± 0.03 g m⁻², (c) an AC/S-coated OPP film with the content of EU being 0.40 ± 0.14 g m⁻², and (d) a CA-coated OPP film with the content of EU being 0.65 ± 0.08 g m⁻². Reproduced from [33] with permission from Elsevier B.V.

Figure 2

A schematic diagram illustrating the preparation of NFC/MLE-based films via either solvent casting or SSI. Reproduced from [35] with permission from Elsevier B.V.

Figure 3

Changes in the colour of pear samples packed in different antioxidant papaya edible films. Reproduced from [53] with permission from Elsevier B.V.