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Food wastage is a major concern for sustainable health and agriculture. To reduce food waste, classical preservation techniques such as drying, pasteurization, freeze-drying, fermentation, and microwave are available. Nonetheless, these techniques display shortcomings such as alteration of food and taste. Such shortcomings may be solved by active food packaging, which involves the incorporation of active agents into the packaging material. Recently, metal–organic frameworks, a class of porous hybrid supramolecular materials, have been developed as an active agent to extend food shelf life and maintain safety. Here, we review metal–organic frameworks in active packaging as oxygen scavengers, antimicrobials, moisture absorbers, and ethylene scavengers. We present methods of incorporation of metal–organic frameworks into packaging materials and their applications.

In a report by WHO (2014), it was stated that antimicrobial resistance is an arising challenge that needs to be resolved. This resistance is a critical issue in terms of disease or infection treatment and is usually caused due to mutation, gene transfer, long-term usage or inadequate use of antimicrobials, survival of microbes after consumption of antimicrobials, and the presence of antimicrobials in agricultural feeds. One of the solutions to this problem is antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are ubiquitously present in the environment. These peptides are of concern due to their special mode of action against a wide spectrum of infections and health-related problems. The biomedical field has the highest need of AMPs as it possesses prominent desirable activity against HIV-1, skin cancer, breast cancer, in Behcet’s disease treatment, as well as in reducing the release of inflammatory cells such as TNFα, IL-8, and IL-1β, enhancing the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and GM-CSF, and in wound healing properties. This review has highlighted all the major functions and applications of AMPs in the biomedical field and concludes the future potential of AMPs.

About one-third of the total food produced is wasted, rising the concern to adopt proper management. Simultaneously with the increase in population, demand for food is increasing which may lead to scarcity. Adequate packaging is one of the ways to avoid deterioration of food and prevent wastage. In recent years, active packaging has attained interest due to its commendable results in food preservation. Several studies proved that the embodiment of antimicrobial components into the packaging material has the ability to prevent microbial contamination. Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) are newly discovered antimicrobial agents for impregnation into packaging material. Among various sources for AMP, insects have shown great resistivity against a wide spectrum of microorganisms. Insects feed on substances consisting of a varying range of contaminations, which often results in infections. Insects synthesise AMPs to fight such infections and survive in that atmosphere. The disease-causing agents in humans are the same as those found in insects. Hence, AMPs extracted from insects have the potential to fight the microorganisms that act as hazards to human health. This review highlights the harvesting and synthesis of AMPs from Hermetia illucens, which is a promising source for AMP and its applications in the food packaging industry.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs), which are declared as generally recognized as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is discussed in this review to reveal their beneficial characteristics when incorporated into packaging matrixes for food packaging and preservation applications. Some of the major challenges in conventional packaging include microbial contamination, oxidation, moisture, gas, and UV transmission into the food, and lack of mechanical strength. These factors lead to poor shelf life, affect food quality, and cause food wastage. Advancement in packaging has shifted the focus toward nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is oriented toward the fabrication and application of materials with nanosized dimensions. Among various nanomaterials, current research has focused on ZnO NPs due to their properties and future applications. Incorporation of ZnO NPs into biopolymer packaging materials considerably enhanced the antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens and prolonged the shelf life of foodstuffs by a Trojan-horse strategy and reactive oxygen mechanism. Besides antimicrobial activity, ZnO NPs allow improvement of the antioxidant activity of the packaging materials by limiting the presence of oxygen in the headspace. Comprehensive ZnO nanocomposite (NC) biopolymer (BP) packaging features and their significance for food packaging applications are presented in this review. Furthermore, it discusses the effect of ZnO NPs on mechanical strength and barrier properties such as water vapor permeability, oxygen transmission rate, and UV transmission across the packaging material.