Edible and food-safe antiviral and antimicrobial smart coatings

Microbe colonization of food products is commonplace and, therefore, food packaging is one of the most challenging sectors always seeking new and innovative solutions to ensure consumer satisfaction and food safety. Biodegradable, food safe, and edible materials can be considered as suitable candidates for packaging applications as the modern-day food industry focuses on food safety along with biodegradability and recyclability; hence, the selection of natural packaging materials is encouraged. Edible coatings and films combined with antimicrobial and antiviral agents can also reduce the cost of traditional food packaging. It can improve the safety and protection of perishable materials in their production, distribution, and storage by increasing the shelf life. Over the last few decades, many coating materials have been developed based on their antibacterial and antiviral activities, resolving pathogen-related issues. This chapter underlines the essential biopolymer-based edible food packaging materials made from polysaccharides (cellulose, starch, and chitosan), lipids (beeswax and free fatty acids), and proteins (casein and whey). Organic acids such as lactic acid, citric acid, and malic acid; bacteriocin; enzymes; oils; and plant extracts are generally used as additives for imparting antimicrobial and antiviral activities to these materials. Moreover, nanomaterials such as Ag NPs, nanoclay, nanoZnO can also be effectively used as additives for antimicrobial food packaging systems. This chapter also covers the mechanism of antimicrobial and antiviral activities of these materials, the processing techniques adopted for making films/coatings, and the characterization tools available for evaluating the prepared food packaging systems. The current challenges and future perspectives related to food packaging are also effectively discussed.