A review on application of plant essential oils in food packaging films

Active packaging is one of the innovations in food packaging industry that would be a respons to the changing needs of consumers and markets. In this technique, materials such as adsorbents oxygen, moisture, carbon dioxide, ethylene and carbon dioxide-releasing flavor compounds, antimicrobials, antioxidants and various aromatic compounds are used. In the last decade, great attention are paid to application of antimicrobial compounds for food packaging and food contact surfaces, the plant essential oils are one of the active constituents in this area. In this article, different kinds of plant essential oils, constituents, antimicrobial properties, mutagenicity and anti-mutation effect of these compounds and their use in food packaging and its impact on the physicochemical properties of packaging and food packaging are discussed.

Plant essential oils and its compounds such as linalool, thymol, cinnamaldehyde, vanillin, carvacrol, and many other compounds because of their characteristics such as anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-oxidant activity are acceptable for using in the food industry and increasing shelf life of corruptible materials. Nowadays, many studies have shown that most of these substances are not harmful to human health; therefore, has found considerable acceptability in industry and among consumers.

Antimicrobial packaging is a type of active packaging that is effective on shelf life, health and food safety. Various materials such as plant essential oils are used in this type of packaging which increase the shelf life and product quality. However, the safety of these compounds before using in industry must be determined.