Electrospun nanofibers fabricated by natural biopolymers for intelligent food packaging

Abstract

An "intelligent" or smart packaging is able to continuously monitor physicochemical and/or biological variations of packaged food materials, providing real-time information concerning their quality, maturity, and safety. Electrospun nanofiber (ENF) structures, nowadays, reckon as versatile biomaterial platforms in designing intelligent packaging (IP) systems. Natural biopolymer-based ENF traits, for example, surface chemistry, rate of degradation, fiber diameter, and degree of alignment, facilitate the development of unique, tunable IP, enhancing food quality, and safety. In this review, after a brief overview of the electrospinning process, we review food IP systems, which can be utilized to detect variations in food features, for example, those based on alterations in temperature, O(2) level, time, humidity, pH, or microbial contamination. Different intelligent approaches that are applicable in engineering IP materials are then highlighted, that is, indicators, data carriers, and sensors. The latest research on the application of ENFs made with natural biopolymers in food IP and their performance on different packaged food types (i.e. meat, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, etc.) are underlined. Finally, the challenges and outlook of these systems in the food industry are discussed.