Curcumin-, Anthocyanin-, and Carotenoid-Based Active and Intelligent Packaging Systems for Food Preservation and Freshness Monitoring

Increasing consumer demand for safer and more sustainable food preservation has stimulated interest in natural pigments as multifunctional components in active and intelligent food systems. This review critically summarizes curcumin-, anthocyanin-, and carotenoid-based systems for food preservation and freshness monitoring, focusing on their mechanisms, material strategies, food-matrix-dependent performance, and technological challenges. Curcumin mainly contributes antioxidant, antimicrobial, and photoresponsive functions, especially photodynamic inactivation when supported by suitable carriers. Anthocyanins provide pH- and amine-responsive colorimetric signals for intelligent freshness monitoring, whereas carotenoids primarily protect oxidation-sensitive foods through radical quenching and lipid oxidation inhibition. Recent incorporation of these pigments into biopolymer films, edible coatings, emulsions, nanocarriers, hydrogels, aerogels, cyclodextrin complexes, metal–organic frameworks, and deep eutectic solvent-assisted systems has improved pigment stability, dispersion, barrier performance, and controlled release. However, poor solubility, environmental instability, matrix interference, migration safety, sensory impacts, quantitative calibration, and scalability remain unresolved. Future development should emphasize mechanism-guided formulation, real-food validation, and safe, stable, scalable pigment-based systems tailored to specific deterioration pathways and commercial applications.