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Chitosan‐based films containing thyme, clove and cinnamon essential oils at 0.5, 1 and 1.5% v/v were prepared to examine their antibacterial, physical and mechanical properties. Scanning electron microscopy was carried out to explain structure–property relationships. Films containing thyme essential oil revealed larger inhibition zones than those containing clove and cinnamon essential oils against gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria tested. Films were more effective against gram‐positive bacteria than gram‐negative. Incorporating thyme and clove essential oils into chitosan‐based films increased moisture content (from 17.80–28.38%), solubility in water (25.97–30.62%), water vapor transmission rate (0.00233–0.00571 g/s/m2) and elongation at break (25.31–42.70%) of films. Cinnamon‐enriched films had opposite changes such as increase in tensile strength (from 12.2–21.35 MPa) and decrease in moisture content (17.80–9.36%) and solubility in water (25.9–14.21%) of films. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Microbial growth on food surfaces is a major cause of food spoilage. Combining antimicrobial agents such as plant essential oils directly into a food packaging polymer is a form of active packaging. These films possess the potential for improving microbial stability of foods by acting on the food surface upon contact. Because of the effect of direct addition of plant essential oils to food on sensory characteristics of packaged food, incorporation of essential oils into films may have additional applications in food packaging.

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Beer is a universally popular beverage, consumed worldwide. Recently, the beer market is witnessing a significant increase in the consumption of low-and non-alcoholic beer. This is mainly due to health reasons, safety reasons in the workplace or on the roads, and strict social regulations. Also, there are countries where alcohol consumption is completely forbidden by law. Consumers in such conditions are willing to consume products as close as possible to the conventional types, from a sensory point of view (especially flavor characteristics). However, non-alcoholic beer suffers from artificial and dull flavor as well as improper body and foaming properties. Therefore, production of alcohol-free beer with satisfactory organoleptic characteristics that can be compared with conventional beers has recently given rise to increased technological and economic interest. In this article, methods of production of alcohol-free beer (and to some extent, low-alcohol beer), its sensory characteristics as well as its health-related aspects are reviewed.