Design and development of migratory and non migratory anti microbial active food packaging for shelf life enhancement of highly pershable food products

Abstract

The accumulation of non-biodegradable polymers and the over-use of fossil resources are the latest major threats to society. Increasing environmental pollution, due to improper recycling methods and the non-biodegradability of petroleum-based polymers, has always been the major global concern. There is a growing interest among researchers, to develop biodegradable materials for the substitution of petroleum-based polymers. The ability to obtain slow and controlled release of active compound from active packaging is critical for prolonging the shelf life of packaged food. Direct addition of the active compound to the surface of the food can lead to neutralization and rapid dispersal into bulk foods. This work highlights the green synthesis of biopolymer from agro-waste, the development of transparent biopolymer packaging, the immobilization of natural active compounds on the matrix of biopolymer packaging films, and the effect of the bioactive packaging system on the shelf-life of highly perishable food products such as fish, black table grapes and red tomatoes. newlineRaw Banana Bract (BB) powder was examined to have a higher content of cellulose than the Banana Peel (BP). The microwave digestion of BP and BB lignocellulose in deionized water was performed for the production of micro cellulose (MCC) fibers. SEM images of micro cellulose fibers extracted from the banana peel (BPM) was observed to have irregular bundles of cellulose fiber, while micro cellulose fibers extracted from the banana bract (BBM) was observed to have linear bundles of crystalline cellulose. Ball milling aided sonication treatment of micro cellulose fiber was proved to be a potential method for the production of nano cellulose (NCC) fibers. A higher percentage of nanofibers was extracted from BP than BB. Cellulose nanofibers extracted from the BB and BP was observed to have linear fibrous morphology. The thermal stability of NCC was higher than MCC. BP-NCC exhibited high thermal stability compared to BB-NCC. newline