Antimicrobial packaging has recently attracted a great deal of interest from the food industry due to the boost in consumer demand for minimally-processed, preservative-free products. Antimicrobial polymeric packaging systems can be considered an emerging technology that could have an important impact on shelf life extension and food safety. Novel polymeric-based packaging materials are continually being developed. Multifunctional composites with desired properties can be tailored by combining reinforcement phases with antimicrobial agents into a polymer matrix. Thus, the importance of active agents like metal nanoparticles, essential oils, or natural extracts in different polymeric matrices has been demonstrated in a broad number of papers [ , ]. One of the main ideas behind this approach is to improve the matrix barrier and mechanical performance. In particular, the use of nanoparticles instead of conventional fillers is beneficial from an application viewpoint, given that the nanoscale fillers display higher specific surface area and density compared to microparticles; therefore, lower nanofiller concentrations are required to reach properties equivalent to or even better than those obtained by conventional microfiller loadings, which makes the processing easier and minimizes the raise in composite weight. Nonetheless, although the aim of these new materials is to improve packaged food quality and safety, the toxicological effects derived from their potential migration from the polymer structures is still under consideration. This Special Issue, with a collection of 12 original contributions and one review, provides selected examples of the most recent advances in the preparation and characterization of antimicrobial composites for food packaging applications.
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