Natural metabolites as functional additive of biopolymers: Experimental evidence and industrial constraint

One of the biggest problems in the food packaging system is the prevention of food from mold contamination. Indeed, food mold infestation is very dangerous for human health and can also considerably raise the financial cost. In particular, in bakery products, Penicillium roqueforti and Aspergillus niger are the main contaminators. On the other hand, the food packaging system is responsible for protecting food substrates from physical damage, chemical and biological contaminations. Besides, packages are designed to preserve food quality and safety, extending their shelf-life. However, due to the environmental impact of conventional polymers, recently, the attention of scientific research and industrial sectors is mainly focused on the use of bioactive biopolymerbased package systems. Antimicrobial food packaging is known as an active package in which natural bioactive compounds, such as plant metabolites, incorporated into the polymer or biopolymer matrices can reduce, inhibit or hinder the growth of microorganisms on the packaged food surface. This chapter examined the application of some biopolymers in food packaging along with a brief introduction of the common biopolymers applied for food packaging. Furthermore, it gave an overview of three natural antifungal metabolites with potential applications in the bakery bio-packaging industry.