A Review on Controlled Release Antimicrobial Food Packaging

In order to control microbial growth in foods and improve their shelf-life and safety، the actions of different antimicrobial agents were studied by mixing them with food formulations، or they were applied onto food surface by spraying. Incorporation of antimicrobial agents directly into food is appropriate when there is a risk of microbial growth at both surface and internal parts of final food products. However، when the main cause of spoilage of food is microbial growth at its surface، the use of excessive amounts of chemical additives into food would be necessary. Thus، this traditional strategy does not fit into the current trend of food technology to develop healthier processed foods by using minimum amounts of chemical additives. The use of polymers as packaging materials containing antimicrobial agents is an alternative to overcome these limitations. Antimicrobial food packaging is based on controlled release of antimicrobial agents on packed food surfaces to maintain a predetermined concentration of the active compound for a determined period of time to reduce، inhibit or retard the growth of pathogenic microorganisms. In this article، different types of food packaging with controlled release properties of antimicrobial agents are studied and some mathematical models are presented to describe the release kinetics of active compound.