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The use of fossil-based plastics in food packaging poses a serious environmental concern. Pectin, a natural biodegradable polymer, offers a potential solution for environmentally friendly and sustainable food packaging to replace fossil-based plastics. This article reviews the applications of pectin in active and intelligent packaging and analyzes the latest research trends. Bibliometric analysis was used to review the existing literature on pectin in food packaging. Data were collected from the Scopus database, which covers research on film manufacturing and pectin-based coating. Pectin-based active packaging contains antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds such as ascorbic acid and essential oils, which effectively prevent bacterial growth while absorbing oxygen and water vapor. In contrast, pectin-based intelligent packaging allows real-time monitoring of food quality through integrated color-changing indicators, eliminating the need for open packaging. Research trends have shown a significant increase in publications on pectin-based packaging, reflecting the growing interest in sustainable packaging solutions. With a focus on innovation and sustainability, pectin can replace conventional plastics and provide safer and more durable packaging solutions, thereby supporting global efforts to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

High-pressure processing (HPP) is a promising alternative to thermal pasteurization. Recent studies highlighted the effectivity of HPP (400-600 MPa and exposure times of 1-5 min) in reducing pathogenic microflora for up to 5 logs. Analysis of modern scientific sources has shown that pressure affects the main components of milk including fat globules, lactose, casein micelles. The behavior of whey proteins under HPP is very important for milk and dairy products. HPP can cause significant changes in the quaternary (> 150 MPa) and tertiary (> 200 MPa) protein structures. At pressures > 400 MPa, they dissolve in the following order: αs 2 -casein, αs 1 -casein, k-casein, and β-casein. A similar trend is observed in the processing of whey proteins. HPP can affect the rate of milk fat adhering as cream with increased results at 100-250 MPa with time dependency while decreasing up to 70% at 400-600 MPa. Some studies indicated the lactose influencing casein on HP, with 10% lactose addition in case in suspension before exposing it to 400 MPa for 40 min prevents the formation of large casein micelles. Number of researches has shown that moderate pressures (up to 400 MPa) and mild heating can activate or stabilize milk enzymes. Pressures of 350-400 MPa for 100 min can boost the activity of milk enzymes by up to 140%. This comprehensive and critical review will benefit scientific researchers and industrial experts in the field of HPP treatment of milk and its effect on milk components., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Seafood, being highly perishable, faces rapid deterioration in freshness, posing spoilage risks and potential health concerns without proper preservation. To combat this, various innovative preservation and packaging technologies have emerged. This review delves into these cutting-edge interventions designed to minimize spoilage and effectively prolong the shelf life of fresh seafood products. Techniques like High-Pressure Processing (HPP), Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), bio-preservation, and active and vacuum packaging have demonstrated the capability to extend the shelf life of seafood products by up to 50%. However, the efficacy of these technologies relies on factors such as the specific type of seafood product and the storage temperature. Hence, careful consideration of these factors is essential in choosing an appropriate preservation and packaging technology., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Recently, diversifying the material, method, and application in food packaging has been massively developed to find more environment-friendly materials. However, the mechanical and barrier properties of the bioplastics are major hurdles to expansion in commercial realization. The compositional variation with the inclusion of different fillers could resolve the lacking performance of the bioplastic. This review summarizes the various reinforcement fillers and their effect on bioplastic development. In this review, we first discussed the status of bioplastics and their definition, advantages, and limitations regarding their performance in the food packaging application. Further, the overview of different fillers and development methods has been discussed thoroughly. The application of reinforced bioplastic for food packaging and its effect on food quality and shelf life are highlighted. The environmental issues, health concerns, and future perspectives of the reinforced bioplastic are also discussed at the end of the manuscript. Adding different fillers into the bioplastic improves physical, mechanical, barrier, and active properties, which render the required protective functions to replace conventional plastic for food packaging applications. Various fillers, such as natural and chemically synthesized, could be incorporated into the bioplastic, and their overall properties improve significantly for the food packaging application., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Fermentation is thought to be born in the Fertile Crescent, and since then, almost every culture has integrated fermented foods into their dietary habits. Originally used to preserve foods, fermentation is now applied to improve their physicochemical, sensory, nutritional, and safety attributes. Fermented dairy, alcoholic beverages like wine and beer, fermented vegetables, fruits, and meats are all highly valuable due to their increased storage stability, reduced risk of food poisoning, and enhanced flavor. Over the years, scientific research has associated the consumption of fermented products with improved health status. The fermentation process helps to break down compounds into more easily digestible forms. It also helps to reduce the amount of toxins and pathogens in food. Additionally, fermented foods contain probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that help the body to digest food and absorb nutrients. In today's world, non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and allergies have increased. In this regard, scientific investigations have demonstrated that shifting to a diet that contains fermented foods can reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases. Moreover, in the last decade, there has been a growing interest in fermentation technology to valorize food waste into valuable by-products. Fermentation of various food wastes has resulted in the successful production of valuable by-products, including enzymes, pigments, and biofuels., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Designing and manufacturing functional bioactive ingredients and pharmaceuticals have grown worldwide. Consumers demand for safe ingredients and concerns over harmful synthetic additives have prompted food manufacturers to seek safer and sustainable alternative solutions. In recent years the preference by consumers to natural bioactive agents over synthetic compounds increased exponentially, and consequently, naturally derived phytochemicals and bioactive compounds, with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, becoming essential in food packaging field. In response to societal needs, packaging needs to be developed based on sustainable manufacturing practices, marketing strategies, consumer behaviour, environmental concerns, and the emergence of new technologies, particularly bio- and nanotechnology. This critical systematic review assessed the role of antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds from natural resources in food packaging and consumer behaviour patterns in relation to phytochemical and biologically active substances used in the development of food packaging. The use of phytochemicals and bioactive compounds inside packaging materials used in food industry could generate unpleasant odours derived from the diffusion of the most volatile compounds from the packaging material to the food and food environment. These consumer concerns must be addressed to understand minimum concentrations that will not affect consumer sensory and aroma negative perceptions. The research articles were carefully chosen and selected by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) guidelines., Competing Interests: All the authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Polystyrene (PS) is a crucial material for modern plastic manufacturers, but its widespread use and direct discard in the environment severely affect the food chain. This review provides a detailed study on the impact of PS microplastics (PS-MPs) on the food chain and the environment, including information on their mechanism, degradation process, and toxicity. The accumulation of PS-MPs in organisms' different organs leads to various adverse reactions, such as reduced body weight, premature deaths, pulmonary diseases, neurotoxicity, transgenerational issues, oxidative stress, metabolic alterations, ecotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and other dysfunctions. These consequences affect diverse elements in the food chain, spanning from aquatic species to mammals and humans. The review also addresses the need for sustainable plastic waste management policies and technological developments to prevent the adverse impacts of PS-MPs on the food chain. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of developing a precise, flexible, and effective methodology for extracting and quantifying PS-MPs in food, considering their characteristics like particle size, polymer types, and forms. While several studies have focused on the toxicity of polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) in aquatic species, further investigation is required to understand the mechanisms by which they are transferred across multiple trophic levels. Therefore, this article serves as the first comprehensive review, examining the mechanism, degradation process, and toxicity of PS-MPs. It presents an analysis of the current research landscape of PS-MPs in the global food chain, providing insights for future researchers and governing organizations to adopt better approaches to managing PS-MPs and preventing their adverse impacts on the food chain. As far as we know this is the first article on this specific and impactant topic., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The development of biodegradable packaging is a challenge, as conventional plastics have many advantages in terms of high flexibility, transparency, low cost, strong mechanical characteristics, and high resistance to heat compared with most biodegradable plastics. The quality of biodegradable materials and the research needed for their improvement for meat packaging were critically evaluated in this study. In terms of sustainability, biodegradable packagings are more sustainable than conventional plastics; however, most of them contain unsustainable chemical additives. Cellulose showed a high potential for meat preservation due to high moisture control. Polyhydroxyalkanoates and polylactic acid (PLA) are renewable materials that have been recently introduced to the market, but their application in meat products is still limited. To be classified as an edible film, the mechanical properties and acceptable control over gas and moisture exchange need to be improved. PLA and cellulose-based films possess the advantage of protection against oxygen and water permeation; however, the addition of functional substances plays an important role in their effects on the foods. Furthermore, the use of packaging materials is increasing due to consumer demand for natural high-quality food packaging that serves functions such as extended shelf-life and contamination protection. To support the importance moving toward biodegradable packaging for meat, this review presented novel perspectives regarding ecological impacts, commercial status, and consumer perspectives. Those aspects are then evaluated with the specific consideration of regulations and perspective in the European Union (EU) for employing renewable and ecological meat packaging materials. This review also helps to highlight the situation regarding biodegradable food packaging for meat in the EU specifically., (© 2023 Institute of Food Technologists®.)

Fabrication of chitosan Schiff bases (ChSB) from giant tiger prawn shells (Penaeus monodon) using an environmentally friendly method has been conducted successfully. Transformation of Prawn Shells (PS) as raw material into chitin then chitosan was executed under ambient temperature. Later, three Ch Schiff bases (ChSB-A, ChSB-S, and ChSB-V) were successfully synthesized for the first time via solvent-free mechanochemical grafting with 2-hydroxy benzaldehyde, 4-methoxy benzaldehyde, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy benzaldehyde, respectively. Synthesis was carried out with Shaker Mill-Ultimate Gravity equipped with a Teflon jar with zirconia balls; then the product was characterized. FTIR analysis proved the conversion of free amine to imine groups. The degree of substitution (DS) and crystallinity index (CrI) were determined by elemental analysis and X-ray diffraction. The DS values obtained were about 0.343, 0.795, and 0.055 for ChSB-A, ChSB-S, and ChSB-V, respectively. The CrI of ChSB-A, ChSB-S, and ChSB-V was 53.3, 51.7, and 46.9 %, respectively. The thermal gravimetric analysis showed that the mechanochemical grafting of Ch improves the thermal stability of ChSB. This developed method provides a novel potential technique to convert PS into ChSB products by solvent-free mechanochemical grafting., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There is a growing criticism of meat-based products over environment, animal welfare, and public health. Meat lovers are keeping and adapting their habits, while other consumers are increasingly shifting toward meat alternatives considered as healthier and more sustainable options to replace the animal-based products. This transition gives room in the market to plant-, seaweed-, and insect-based meat products alternatives. Nevertheless, these emerging markets are still facing the challenge of consumers' acceptance and the uncertainty in terms of preferences. This paper focuses on in-depth understanding of consumer perception and acceptability of plant-, seaweed-, and insect-based meat products to get insights on their current situation and future implementation. The main factors and motives influencing the consumer perceptions toward meat alternative products are reported. Further, the consumers' motives and drivers to consume alternative products were highlighted. This review, provides a better understanding of motives and drivers of consumers' acceptance to improve the acceptability of meat alternatives, considering product and country origin of the consumers of meat alternative foods.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2036096.

Microplastics from food packaging material have risen in number and dispersion in the aquatic system, the terrestrial environment, and the atmosphere in recent decades. Microplastics are of particular concern due to their long-term durability in the environment, their great potential for releasing plastic monomers and additives/chemicals, and their vector-capacity for adsorbing or collecting other pollutants. Consumption of foods containing migrating monomers can lead to accumulation in the body and the build-up of monomers in the body can trigger cancer. The book chapter focuses the commercial plastic food packaging materials and describes their release mechanisms of microplastics from packaging into foods. To prevent the potential risk of microplastics migrated into food products, the factors influencing microplastic to the food products, e.g., high temperatures, ultraviolet and bacteria, have been discussed. Additionally, as many evidences shows that the microplastic components are toxic and carcinogenic, the potential threats and negative effects on human health have also been highlighted. Moreover, future trends is summarized to reduce the microplastic migration by enhancing public awareness as well as improving waste management., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The current relevance of a healthy diet in well-being has led to a surging interest in designing novel functional food products enriched by biologically active molecules. As nature-inspired bioactive components, several lines of research have revealed the capability of polyphenolic compounds (phenolics) in the medical intervention of different ailments, i.e., tumors, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases. Phenolics typically possess antioxidant and antibacterial properties and, due to their unique molecular structure, can offer superior platforms for designing functional products. They can protect food ingredients from oxidation and promote the physicochemical attributes of proteins and carbohydrate-based materials. Even though these properties contribute to the inherent benefits of bioactive phenolics as important functional ingredients in the food industry, the in vitro/in vivo instability, poor solubility, and low bioavailability are the main factors restricting their food/pharma applicability. Recent advances in the encapsulation realm are now offering efficient platforms to overcome these limitations. The application of encapsulation field may offer protection and controlled delivery of phenolics in food formulations. Here, we review recent advances in micro/nanoencapsulation of phenolics and highlight efficient carriers from this decade, which have been utilized successfully in food applications. Although further development of phenolic-containing formulations promises to design novel functional food formulations, and revolutionize the food industry, most of the strategies found in the scientific literature are not commercially applicable. Moreover, in vivo experiments are extremely crucial to corroborate the efficiency of such products.

Advances in animal husbandry and better performance of livestock results in growing demands for feed and its nutrients, bioactive compounds (bioactives), such as vitamins, minerals, proteins, and phenolics, along with drugs/vaccines. To protect the feed bioactives in unintended circumstances, they can be encapsulated to achieve desired efficacy in animal feeding and nanoencapsulation gives more potential for better protection, absorption and targeted delivery of bioactives. This study reviews structures, properties, and methods of nanoencapsulation for animal feedings and relevant drugs. Essential oil (EOs) and plant extracts are mostly encapsulated bioactives and phytochemicals for poultry diets and chitosan is found as most effective nanocarrier to load EOs and plant extracts. Nanoparticles (NPs) and nanocapsules are frequently studied nanocarriers, which are mostly processed by using the ionotropic/ionic gelation. Nanofibers, nanohydrogels and nanoemulsions are not found yet for their application in feed bioactives. These nanocarriers can have an improved protection, stability, and controlled release of feed bioactives which benefits to additional nutrition for the growth of livestock regardless of the low stability and water solubility of bioactives. For ruminants' feeds, nano-minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals, essential fatty acids, and drugs are encapsulated by NPs to facilitate the delivery to target organs through direct penetration, to improve their bioavailability, to generate more efficient absorption in cells and tissues, and protect them from rapid degradation. Furthermore, safety and regulatory issues, as well as advantages and disadvantages of nanoencapsulation application in animal feeds are also discussed. The review shows an accurate design of NPs can largely mask safety issues with straightforward approaches and awareness of safety concerns is fundamental for better designing of nanoencapsulation systems and commercialization. This review gives an insight of understanding and potential of nanoencapsulation in ruminants and poultry feedings to obtain a better bioavailability of the nutrients and bioactives with improved safety and awareness for better designing of nanoencapsulating systems., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Pseudomonas fragi is the dominant spoilage organism in various foods, especially in spoiled milk, fish, and meats. Its growth can be inhibited by releasing allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) from ground mustard seeds in food packages. This paper aims to investigate the antimicrobial potential of ground mustard seeds against P. fragi growth and the effectiveness of released AITC concentration from mustard seeds on microbial inhibition of the spoilage bacteria growing in the liquid medium. The AITC concentration in the headspace and the liquid medium was measured and the growth of P. fragi in the liquid medium was monitored. Depending on the concentration of AITC, not only growth was inhibited but a reduction of the total count of P. fragi was even observed. The inactivation rate (k) of P. fragi was estimated using first-order inactivation kinetics and the minimum gaseous-released AITC to inactivate P. fragi was determined. Higher AITC concentration in the headspace and liquid medium was observed when using a higher amount of ground mustard seeds and a lower food to headspace ratio. Increasing the amount of ground mustard seeds (>100 mg per 10 mL liquid medium) led to full inactivation of P. fragi in 48 hours. By using an inhibition sigmoid E max model, the minimum gaseous-released AITC for inactivation of P. fragi in 48 hours was observed around 15 µg/L headspace. These results indicate that inhibition of the spoilage bacteria and extending the shelf life using ground mustard seeds is only possible by applying a careful design of the packaging system.

In this study an active antimicrobial packaging based on the controlled release of Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) from mustard seed was designed. The effect of fat content and particle size of ground mustard seeds on formation and release of AITC was investigated and the underlying mechanisms were highlighted. A smaller size of mustard particles resulted in more sinigrin conversion to AITC and a higher release of AITC in the headspace. The fat content has an important role on AITC release, a decreased fat content decreased AITC levels in the particles and increased the amount of AITC in the headspace. Based on the results of the sinigrin hydrolysis, the AITC surface exchange rate and the AITC fat solubility, an overall picture of the factors influencing the AITC release from the particles is proposed, which describes formation of AITC and its partitioning between the compartments of the particles and the headspace., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)