Natural waste application in production of active packaging for food preservation

Recently, the using of plastic packaging in food products has caused consumer concerns due to its non-degradability and long durability in the environment, the release of toxic substances into the food and even the environment, as well. Therefore, the design and production of biodegradable packaging with natural origin has been highly welcomed by researchers. The extracted natural compounds of food waste can be used to produce this type of packaging. Many of these wastes contain antioxidant and antimicrobial agents that can delay food spoilage and increase their shelf life. Also, some of natural waste contain indicator pigments that show color change against pH, carbon dioxide concentration, volatile nitrogen compounds, storage temperature and time changes of food, and can be used in the production of food smart packaging. This study reviews the types of food waste that have been used in food packaging so far. Also, their active ingredient and features in the packaged food are introduced. This review carried out from the beginning of March 2024 to the end of July 2024, 203 articles were studied from the researcher engines such as Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, MDPI, CiteSeer, Springer, Scientific Information database (SID) and Civilica which 99 sources were used in the present study. It can be concluded from the present study that the natural wastes that is widely produced and thrown away in the world every day can be used for identification and extraction the bioactive substances such as antimicrobial, antioxidants, indicator compounds and protein, polysacharadie and lipid biopolymers. By using these extracted materials, the safe, affordable, accessible, active and intelligent packaging can be produced to quality and shelf life enhancement of food during storage period. These biodegradable packages are suggested as a suitable alternative to today''s challenging plastic packages.