Antimicrobial Agents in Films and Coatings

Food losses are a major concern in the food processing industries, while foodborne illnesses represent an even graver risk to public health. There are several ways of combining the antimicrobial substance into food packaging systems, including addition of active agents to films or coatings, or by generating polymer packaging materials with innate antimicrobial characteristics. This chapter provides information on the natural antimicrobials, chemical antimicrobials, and antimicrobial nanostructures. Based on the degradability of polymers, antimicrobial packaging can be categorized as biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Different types of antimicrobial compounds like organic acids, Essential oils, and nanoparticles are incorporated in natural and synthetic polymers to increase shelf-life and to enhance the quality of food products by arresting microbial growth. The release kinetics of active compounds from an active packaging system mainly depends on three factors: film properties, storage conditions, and food or food simulant properties. Most of the antimicrobial agents are covered under various regulations as "food additives."