A halochromic indicator based on polylactic acid and anthocyanins for visual freshness monitoring of minced meat, chicken fillet, shrimp, and fish roe

Herein, a new intelligent indicator with polylactic acid (PLA)/ polyethylene glycol (PEG)/calcium bentonite (CB) blend and Malva sylvestris, as a source of anthocyanins, was developed, characterized, and used for visual freshness monitoring of a variety of proteinous foods. Anthocyanins were incorporated successfully into PLA/PEG/CB with no significant change in the chemical structure of the indicator. The hydrophilic (water contact angle of 43.9°) indicator represented visual color changes from light red (at pH 2) to green (at pH 11). Moreover, PLA/PEG/CB-Malva indicator visually distinguished (ΔE > 5) fresh, medium fresh, and spoiled shrimp and fish roe (during 6 days at 4 °C), but discriminated only fresh and spoiled minced beef and chicken fillets (during 10 days at 4 °C), which were strongly correlated with the total volatile basic nitrogen of food samples. The PLA/PEG/CB-Malva indicator has a satisfying application for monitoring the freshness of various proteinous foods. This study showed that anthocyanins extracted from Malva Sylvestris can be used efficiently in food smart packaging. The incorporation of anthocyanins into polylactic acid has led to the production of a novel intelligent freshness indicator. The indicator revealed an appropriate response to the spoilage of different proteinous foods with the capacity to differentiate between fresh, medium fresh, and spoiled foods. This capability is an important feature in commercializing freshness indicators.