Trends in antimicrobial food packaging systems: Emitting sachets and absorbent pads

•The use of antimicrobial emitting sachets (ES) and absorbent pads (AP) is reviewed.•ES and AP are the most successful commercial application of active food packaging.•This review focuses on the recent developments and future trends of ES and AP.•ES and AP elaboration techniques and characterization methods are discussed.•The advantages and drawbacks of using ES and AP in food packaging are weighed.

Active antimicrobial packaging interacts with packaged food and headspace to reduce, retard, or even inhibit the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms. Sachets and pads are one of the most successful applications of active food packaging. This review discusses recent developments of antimicrobial active packaging focused exclusively on emitting sachets and absorbent pads, including elaboration techniques, characterization methods, and applications for food preservation purposes. Advantages, drawbacks, and future trends are also discussed, as well as the antimicrobial compounds incorporated in emitting sachets and absorbent pads, including ethanol, chlorine dioxide, a variety of plant essential oils and their main active compounds, and nanoparticles.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide