No abstract

Berries have wide market possibilities in the fruit sector although they have a short shelf life, which is why it is necessary to improve the existing packaging and storage systems. Given the need to increase the shelf life of berries reducing factors causing deterioration such as fungal decay, in this review the effect and application of different plant‐based natural antimicrobial agents are described focusing on their use in active packaging for berries and fruits of similar size. The most used components are mentioned as recognizing the packaging material, application mode, and target microorganism, besides, the microbiological technique. Botrytis cinerea was the most reported mold. Molds and yeasts count, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), and disk diffusion method were the most used techniques. According to the reviewed literature, these natural compounds show promising results for molds inhibition, and their use in active antimicrobial packaging to increase shelf life for these fruits. Novelty impact statement Traditional packaging cannot deal with deterioration factors such as microorganisms. In the case of highly perishable products such as berries and the like, recent progress has been made in the application of active packaging systems including safe substances of natural origin, which are described in this work. This type of packaging can substantially extend the shelf life of the product bringing new possibilities for the stages of postharvest handling, distribution, and storage.