Abstract:

Food waste and food safety motivate the need for improved food packaging solutions. However, current films/coatings addressing these issues are often limited by inefficient release dynamics that require large quantities of active ingredients. Here we developed antimicrobial pullulan fibre (APF)-based packaging that is biodegradable and capable of wrapping food substrates, increasing their longevity and enhancing their safety. APFs were spun using a high-throughput system, termed focused rotary jet spinning, with water as the only solvent, allowing the incorporation of naturally derived antimicrobial agents. Using avocados as a representative example, we demonstrate that APF-coated samples had their shelf life extended by inhibited proliferation of natural microflora, and lost less weight than uncoated control samples. This work offers a promising technique to produce scalable, low-cost and environmentally friendly biodegradable antimicrobial packaging systems.