Table 6.
The use of metal nanoparticles in antimicrobial food packaging.
| Metal NP. | Packaging Material | Food Product | Antimicrobial Effectiveness | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bimetallic silver–copper (Ag–Cu) | Polylactide (PLA) + cinnamon EO films | Chicken meat | PLA films with 4% of bimetallic NPs reduced L. monocytogenes, S. typhimurium counts by 1 log CFU/g and C. jejuni counts by 3 log CFU/g during refrigerated storage for 150 days | [107] |
| Zinc oxide (ZnO) | Starch films | Fresh-cut mushrooms | Films with 3% ZnO exhibited antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes, resulting in a reduction of 0.86 log CFU/g after 6 days of storage at 4 °C in polypropylene containers | [111] |
| Titanium oxide (TiO2) | Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) | Fresh minced meat | ZnO nanoparticle (2%)-coated LDPE films were identified as the best case to improve shelf life and prevent E. coli growth in fresh calf minced meat during refrigerated storage for 72 h | [112] |
| Silver | Polyvinyl alcohol-montmorillonite blend | Chicken sausages | Marked reduction (qualitative) of total viable cell counts in chicken sausage samples stored at 4 °C for 4 days | [113] |
| Silver | Polyethylene (PE) + clay blend | Chicken breast | Films containing 5% Ag and 5% TiO2 had the greatest effect on decreasing the microbial load of the chicken sample contaminated with S. aureus for 5 days at 4 °C Films were more effective in inhibiting the growth of S. aureus than E. coli |
[114] |
| Zinc oxide | Polylactide/poly(ε-caprolactone) + clove EO | Scrambled eggs | The efficacy of the composite films was verified against S. aureus and E. coli inoculated in scrambled egg, and results indicated that the PLA/PEG/PCL/ZnO/CEO film exhibited the highest antibacterial activity during 21 days storage at 4 °C | [115] |
| Zinc oxide | Gelatin-chitosan nanofibers composite film | Chicken Cheese |
The results showed that the wrapping with nanocomposite film significantly decreased the growth of inoculation bacteria in chicken fillet and cheese samples stored at 4 °C for 12 days S. aureus and E. coli cell counts (chicken) were reduced by 2 log CFU/g during storage, whereas in cheese samples, P. aeruginosa and E. coli were reduced by only 1 log CFU/g |
[116] |