Introducing a Novel Composite Polymer for Food Packaging

Introduction: Safety and quality control of foods have attracted significant global attentions. Intelligent and active packaging materials are emerging areas of food technology, which is attracting a lot of attention in the food industry. The present study with the aims of incorporating Rosa damascena extract (RDE) into the chitosan-gum Arabic (CH-GA) through the casting method and investigating its antimicrobial property as potential application in the food packaging were conducted. Methods: Preparation of films based on CH-GA containing RDE was conducted via casting method. The antimicrobial activity of the designated films was investigated by the disk diffusion assay. The morphology of the fabricated films was determined under the field emission scanning electron microscopy. Results: The prepared films had antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus cereus ranging from 5.50 mm to 9.33 mm inhibition zone diameter. The film containing the RDE has a rough surface and the pure film exhibited a smooth, dense surface, a uniform structure, and no cracks. Conclusion: This result showed that the CH-GA film containing RDE can be used as an active packaging material in the food industry for enhancing the freshness of the protein-rich foods.