The control of fungi and mycotoxins by food active packaging: a review

Abstract

Conventionally used petrochemical-based plastics are poorly degradable and cause severe environmental pollution. Alternatively, biopolymers (e.g., polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and their blends) are biodegradable and environment-friendly, and thus their use in packaging technologies has been on the rise. Spoilage of food by mycotoxigenic fungi poses a severe threat to human and animal health. Hence, because of the adverse effects of synthetic preservatives, active packaging as an effective technique for controlling and decontaminating fungi and related mycotoxins has attracted considerable interest. The current review aims to provide an overview of the prevention of fungi and mycotoxins through active packaging. The impact of different additives on the antifungal and anti-mycotoxigenic functionality of packaging incorporating active films/coatings is also investigated. In addition, active packaging applications to control and decontaminate common fungi and mycotoxins in bakery products, cereal grains, fruits, nuts, and dairy products are also introduced. The results of recent studies have confirmed that biopolymer films and coatings incorporating antimicrobial agents provide great potential for controlling common fungi and mycotoxins and enhancing food quality and safety.

GRAPHICAL ABTSRACT

Keywords:

• Active packaging
• biodegradable food packaging
• decontamination
• food spoilage
• food safety
• fungi
• mycotoxin

Consent to participate

The authors declare their consent to participate in this article.

Consent to publish

The authors declare their consent to publish this article.

Author contributions

Shima Jafarzadeh: Investigation, Data curation, Resources, Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing, original draft. Milad Hadidi: literature searching, writing & editing, Mehrdad Forough: literature searching, writing & editing, Abdorreza Mohammadi Nafchi Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision. Amin Mousavi Khaneghah: Supervision, review & editing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a Short-Term Grant [304PTEKIND/6315423] from Universiti Sains Malaysia.