Application of Green Antibacterial Packaging Materials in Food Industry
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Packaging and Preservation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 June 2024 | Viewed by 866
Special Issue Editor
Interests: bioactive compounds; natural antimicrobials; nanotechnology; food safety; food microbiology; essencial oils; encapsulation; active packaging
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The food industry needs to ensure the maintenance of food safety and quality from production to consumption. During the various stages of food processing, contamination with spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms may occur, resulting from contact with a contaminated surface, as well as from the lack of ideal hygienic-sanitary standards when handling food. The food’s nutritional composition and high water activity are also key factors for microbial development. In this context, developing forms of preservation that are efficient and economical is a great challenge for the food industry. Considering the growing consumer demand for ready-to-eat foods, with minimal added preservatives and organoleptic characteristics of fresh products, there is a great interest in the development of new technologies and packaging materials. Traditional plastic packaging has a low cost and adequate structural properties, but its diverse composition and non-renewable source make the recycling process difficult, directly contributing to environmental pollution. Aiming to help maintain food safety and quality, as well as reduce or replace synthetic preservatives added to food, the development of green antibacterial packaging materials can be a very interesting alternative. In this sense, several green antibacterials can be evaluated, such as bacteriocins, essential oils and their constituents and chitosan, among others. In addition, the way in which these antibacterials are incorporated into packaging can vary, from the direct application of the free antimicrobial (in solution) to nanoencapsulation. Nanoencapsulation is a technique in which an encapsulating agent traps an active substance in a nanometer-sized vesicle. The most studied nanomaterials for applications in food packaging are metallic nanoparticles, nanofibers, nanoliposomes, and polymeric nanoparticles. A green antibacterial packaging material is supposed to provide improved biocompatibility, biodegradability, physical performance and barrier properties and an eco-friendly and antimicrobial nature, thereby increasing the food safety, shelf life, and freshness of the material packed inside it.
We are pleased to invite you to submit your original research articles or reviews to this Special Issue. The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a platform for the publication of valuable articles related to the application of green antibacterial packaging materials in the food industry.
Dr. Patrícia Da Silva Malheiros
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- active packaging
- natural antimicrobials
- essencial oils
- bacteriocin
- food safety
- food quality
- nanotechnology
- packaging materials
- antibacterial
