An antimicrobial (AM) Active Packaging can be made by incorporating and immobilizing suitable AM agents into food package matrices and applying a bio switch concept. A starchbased film was prepared and incorporated with an antimicrobial agent, i.e. lysozyme with EDTA as a chelating agent. This film was then inoculated with the bacteria Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis to carry out the microbial contamination study. The inhibition of both E. coli and B. subtilis by the AM film was clearly observed as a clear zone formation in the culture agar test. The film appearance showed that lysozymes could give a better inhibition to the growth of E. coli and to B. subtilis, at a satisfying inhibition rate. From the broth test, the decreased in the optical densities were found to be 65.83% and 91.30%, suggesting an effective growth inhibition of E. coli and B. subtilis, respectively. Physically, the film which was incorporated with lysozymes was found to be slightly different from the control film. The moisture content of the film, with lysozymes, was found to be below 10.5%, as compared to the control, after 24 hours of formation in the storage at ambient temperature.
Interest in the use of intelligent packaging systems for food products has increased in recent years. Intelligent packaging
systems are those that monitor the condition of packaged foods to give information regarding the quality of the packaged
food during transport and storage. The potential of HEC/PANI film as pH indicator and pH sensor were evaluated. HEC/
PANI film was prepared by solution blending and casting method. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed
that there was no chemical interaction between HEC and PANI. The film properties were retained chemically. The electrical
conductivity increment from 1.14×105 to 2.2 ×105
S/cm was observed when PANI was incorporated into the HEC film matrix.
Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) showed that the electrical conductance network of PANI was formed
in HEC/PANI film. The electrical sensitivity of the film has been studied with I-V characterization. The changes in color and
current of HEC/PANI film on interaction to pH buffer 1-14 shows its suitability as pH indicator and pH sensor for food.
Jackfruit straws are normally disposed as waste by food industries and vendors which may lead to serious environmental issue. In order to reduce the wastage and negative effects to the environment, jackfruit straw waste generated by jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) shows potential as bio-based film incorporated with starch. This work describes the effect of different starch and plasticizer contents on mechanical and thermal properties of jackfruit straw powder (JSP)/starch films. Film-forming solutions were prepared and cast by mixing JSP with tapioca starch at different ratios and for the plasticized films, ca. 15 - 40% of plasticizers including sorbitol and glycerol were incorporated into the JSP/starch films respectively. The tensile strength and modulus of JSP/starch films pronouncedly increased with increasing starch content, accompanied with a slight decreasing in the elongation at break. The result demonstrated that starch interacted with JSP, resulting in the formation of a new network to improve the properties of JSP films. FTIR spectrum analyses demonstrated the presence of hydrogen bonding in the JSP/starch film. The tensile strength of the plasticized JSP/starch films decreased with increasing sorbitol and glycerol content from 15% to 40%. However, the plasticizing effect of sorbitol became more significant than glycerol, particularly on the tensile properties and thermal stability. Thermal analysis by thermogravimetric showed an increment in the decomposition temperature with the addition of plasticizers into JSP/starch films. The results suggest that films containing JSP and starch have the potential for the development of edible food packaging materials.