Preparation and characterization of active chitosan/bacterial cellulose nano-whisker composite film enriched with lauroyl arginate ethyl for food packaging applications - Microbial Diversity 2019

Acetic acid bacteria are recognized for their wide range of industrial applications. Recently, applying bacterial cellulose (BC) from acetic acid bacteria as a packaging material has received considerable attention from food packaging industries. This is mainly due to its unique properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, water holding capacity and remarkable mechanical properties (1). Active packaging is intended to extend the shelf-life of food products and assure their safety and quality inside the packaging systems. In this context, lauroyl arginate ethyl (LAE) is considered as one of the most effective antimicrobial substances among novel food additives which is also classified as GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by the Food and Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Agency (2). Thus, the main aim of this study was to characterize the microstructural, physical, mechanical and optical properties of chitosan/bacterial cellulose nano-whisker (BCNW) composite film enriched with LAE for potential application as active food packaging. Moreover, antimicrobial activity of this film against four common food bacterial pathogens including Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium, was investigated.