Table 2.
Active agent incorporated directly in the polymer matrix.
| Active Agent (AA) | Material/Matrix | Packaging Function | Processes Used | Food Product Tested/Packaging Type | Active Agent Amount | Main Effects Compared Control Film | Amount of AA Migrated * | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amosorb DFC 4020 | PET/PET—containing AA/PET | Oxygen scavenger | Cast film co-extrusion (Temperature profile: 285–280 °C) | Fresh apple slices | 10 g/100 g polymer | The multilayer films with higher thickness in internal active layer reduced the browning of fresh apple slices packaged after 15 days storage at 8 °C. This packaging also allowed preserving the initial values of the acidity and sugar content of apples. | nd | [23] |
| Iron | PET/Adhesive/Al/Adhesive/PE—containing AA/PE | Oxygen scavenger | Film extrusion and lamination (temperatures not specified) | Salami in a baked bread roll | - | The food samples stored 30 days at 23 °C with active film and with sealing defects of 10 mm, showed that the presence of OS was advantageous in the permanence of color of product, when compared to the packaging without OS. | nd | [25] |
| α-TOC and synthetic materials (BHA and BHT) | PE-HD—containing TiO2/EVOH/PE-LD—containing antioxidant | Antioxidant activity | Blown film co-extrusion (temperatures not specified) | Whole milk powder/direct contact | 4 g of α-TOC, 4 g of α-TOC mix with 1.5 g of BHA, 1.5 g of BHT and 1.5 g of BHA (all by 100 g polymer) | The multilayer film with α-TOC in contact with whole the milk powder showed a more gradual release of α-TOC during the 30 days storage (26.8% at 30 days). In addition, this film contributed to protect vitamin A degradation presents in whole milk powder. | α-TOC–63 ± 2 µg/g α-TOC mix with BHA—64 ± 0.6 µg/g (Product stored during 30 days at 30 °C) Regulation (EU) allows a maximum of 60 mg/kg of α-TOC |
[52] |
| Nis., Chit., PSorbate or AgZeo | PE-LD/PA/PE-LD -containing AA | Antimicrobial activity | Blown film extrusion (temperatures not specified) | Chicken drumsticks/direct contact | 2 g/100 g polymer | The results indicated that the use of active bags with nisin and chitosan reduced the levels of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (APC) and total coliform in chicken drumsticks storage during 6 days at 5 °C. | nd | [8] |
| NPs Ag, CuO and ZnO | PE-LD film | Antimicrobial activity | Film extrusion (Temperature profile: 180–239 °C) | Cheese/ns | 1 g metal nanoparticles/100 g polymer | All active films with metal NPs showed a decline of the number of coliform bacteria of 4.21 log cfu/g after 4 weeks of storage at 4 ± 0.5 °C. The effect of each individual NPs on decreasing coliform load had the following order: CuO > ZnO > Ag. | CuO—0.23 ± 0.005 mg/kg (it was used the simulant B at 40 °C for 10 days) EFSA1 legislation allows a maximum of 10 mg of Cu/kg of food |
[47] |
| Ag/TiO2 NPs | PE-LD film | Antimicrobial activity | Blown film extrusion (temperatures not specified) | Rice/ns | 9 g/100 g polymer | Reduction from 7.15 to 5.48 log CFU/g in rice stored with active packaging after one month. | Ag+—0.0035 mg/kg (product stored 35 days at 37 °C and relative humidity of 70%) EFSA1 legislation allows a maximum of silver migration of 0.05 mg of Ag+/kg of food. |
[49] |
| P105 powder (TiO2 + Ag NPs) and ZnO NPs | PE-LD film | Antimicrobial activity | Film extrusion (Temperature profile: 60–160 °C) | Fresh orange juice/direct contact | 1.5 and 5 g of P105 powder (TiO2 + Ag NPs) and 0.25 and 1 g of ZnO NPs (all by 100 g polymer) | Nanocomposite film containing nano-Ag showed higher antimicrobial activity than films with nano-ZnO when they are used to pack orange juice. | 5 g of P105 (Ag)–0.15 ± 0.002 µg/L 0.25 g ZnO–0.68 ± 0.002 µg/L 1 g ZnO–0.54 ± 0.005 µg/L (product stored at 40 °C for 112 days) EFSA1 legislation allows a maximum of 10 ppm of Ag Regulation (EU) allows a maximum of 25 mg of Zn/kg of food |
[53] |
| α-TOC | PE-LD/PP blend film | Antioxidant activity | Film extrusion (Temperature profile: 221 °C) | - | 3000 mg/kg | The PE-LD/PP blend films with higher PP ratio showed a longer induction period of oxidation against linoleic acid oxidation (6 days) due to the low releasing of TOC in LDE/PP blend films, allowing an antioxidant effect for more time. | nd | [55] |
| α-TOC | PE-LD film | Antioxidant activity | Film extrusion (Temperature profile: 165 °C) | Corn oil/direct contact | 20 and 40 mg/g | Increase of shelf life of corn oil from 12 to 16 weeks stored at 30 °C. | nd | [56] |
| Proallium | PLA film | Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity | Film extrusion (Temperature profile: 200–205 °C) | Salad/ns | 2, 5 and 6.5 g/100 g polymer | The films developed showed no significant antioxidant activity; however, they showed effectiveness during the storage time (7 days) against all microorganisms studied, except for aerobic bacteria. | nd | [40] |
| α-TOC | PLA film | Antioxidant activity | Blown film extrusion (Temperature profile: 165–170 °C) | - | 3 g/100 g polymer | Diffusion of α-TOC to fractioned coconut oil was slower than to ethanol with 5.1–12.9% of release. Diffusion of α-TOC to soybean oil was able to decrease the induction of the oxidation at 20 and 30 °C, but not at 40 ºC. | nd | [57] |
| PSorbate or/and OEO | TPS/PBAT-Ecoflex® blend film | Antioxidant and antibacterial activity | Blown film extrusion (Temperature profile: 90–120 °C) | Chicken steaks frozen/ns | 0.5 and 1 g/100 g polymer | Active film showed a reduction of 50% in TBARS values and a delay in microbial development when using the film with OEO and PS. | nd | [58] |
| HNTs | PE-LD film | Ethylene scavenger | Blown film extrusion (Temperature profile: 165–185 °C) | Bananas and tomatoes/ns | 1, 3 and 5 g/100 g polymer | The results showed that the presence of 5% w/w HNTs improved the ethylene adsorption capacity of PE films by 20%. Active films slowed down the ripening process of bananas during 8 days and tomatoes only decreased their firmness 16% after 10 days of storage. | nd | [32] |
| NaCl crystals | PP film | Moisture absorber | Cast film extrusion (Temperature profile: 180–250 °C) | - | 0.03 g or 0.06 g per 1 g of film | The PP film developed with NaCl crystals showed an absorption capacity of water vapor around 0.8 g water/g film at 97% relative humidity. | nd | [31] |
Legend: nd—not determined. ns—not specified if the active agent reacts by direct contact or headspace. * Amount of AA migrated from packaging to food product tested or food simulants.