Biobased Food Packaging Systems Functionalized with Essential Oil via Pickering Emulsion: Advantages, Challenges, and Current Applications

The development of innovative active food packaging is a promising strategy to mitigate food loss and waste while enhancing food safety, extending shelf life, and maintaining overall quality. In this review, Pickering emulsions with essential oils are critically evaluated as active additives for sustainable food packaging films, focusing on their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, stabilization mechanisms, and physicochemical performances. A bibliometric approach was used to contextualize the current research landscape and new trends. Data were collected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases to find studies published between 2020 and 2024. The analysis of 51 articles shows that cinnamon, clove, and oregano are the most used essential oils, while cellulose and chitosan are the predominant polymer matrices. Pickering emulsions as stabilizers in food science represent a step forward in sustainable emulsion technology. The incorporation of essential oils into biobased films via Pickering emulsions can improve the mechanical and barrier properties, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, and shelf life of foods. This approach offers a natural, environmentally friendly alternative to conventional materials and is in line with the 2030 Agenda goals for sustainability and responsible consumption. Recent advances show that composite particles combining polysaccharides and proteins have higher stability and functionality compared to single particles due to their optimized interactions at the interfaces. Future research should focus on developing scalable, cost-effective production methods and conducting comprehensive environmental testing and regulatory compliance, particularly for nanotechnology-based packaging. These efforts will be crucial to drive the development of safe and effective biobased active food packaging.