Active Cardboard Box with Smart Internal Lining Based on Encapsulated Essential Oils for Enhancing the Shelf Life of Fresh Mandarins

Abstract

Mandarins are usually sold in bulk and refrigerated in open cardboard boxes with a relatively short shelf-life (12–15 days) due to physiological and pathological disorders (rot, dehydration, internal breakdown, etc.). The influence of a controlled release of essential oils (EOs) from an active packaging (including β-cyclodextrin-EOs inclusion complex) was studied on the mandarin quality stability, comparing different sized cardboard trays and boxes, either non-active or active, at the pilot plant scale (experiment 1; commercialization simulation at room temperature after a previous simulation of short transportation/storage of 5 days at 8 °C). Then, the selected package was further validated at the industrial scale (experiment 2; cold storage at 8 °C up to 21 days). Among package types, the active large box (≈10 kg fruit per box) better maintained the mandarin quality, extending the shelf life from two weeks (non-active large box) to three weeks at room temperature. Particularly, the active large box highly controlled microbial growth (up to two log units), reduced weight losses (by 1.6-fold), reduced acidity, and increased soluble solids (highly appreciated in sensory analyses), while it minimized colour and controlled firmness changes after three weeks. Such trends were also observed during the validation experiment, extending the shelf life (based on sensory quality) from 14 to at least 21 days. In conclusion, the mandarin’s shelf life with this active cardboard box format was extended more than one week at 8 °C.

Active Paper Sheets Including Nanoencapsulated Essential Oils: A Green Packaging Technique to Control Ethylene Production and Maintain Quality in Fresh Horticultural Products—A Case Study on Flat Peaches

“…Montero-Prado et al [ 57 ] also found that cinnamon EOs (non-encapsulated) included in active plastic containers seemed to reduce weight loss rates in peaches during cold storage. Similar weight loss inhibition with EOs (carvacrol, eugenol, thymol, menthol, eucalyptol, oregano EO, and cinnamon EO) has been found for other horticultural products [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 44 , 62 ]. Although the mechanism of this protective effect of EOs against weight losses in horticultural products is still not well known, Montero-Prado et al [ 57 ] found that lipoxygenase activity was inhibited in peaches stored within active EO (non-encapsulated) plastic containers.…”

“…Then, the four fruit samples were stored at 2 or 8 °C, leaving the jar lid half-closed to avoid fruit dehydration and O 2 reduction–CO 2 accumulation (O 2 ≥ 18% and CO 2 < 1%; measured with a portable CO 2 /O 2 analyzer (Checkpoint; PBI Dansensor, Ringsted, Danemark)) for 5 and 26 days. The cold storage period of 5 days was selected to simulate a short continental terrestrial transport, while the cold storage period of 26 days was selected to simulate long storage and overseas transport [ 17 , 24 ]. A commercialization simulation (COM; 4 days at 22 °C) was also conducted after each cold storage period to observe possible physiological disorders due to cold storage and real conditions during the commercial fruit retail period [ 1 , 2 , 24 ].…”

“…Active packaging is an emerging technology that extends the product shelf life through controlled release of an encapsulated compound [ 16 ]. Thus, active EO packaging with eco-sustainable materials (e.g., paper and cardboard) can extend the shelf life of several fruits and vegetables [ 7 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Furthermore, high relative humidity (RH), such as that maintained in cold rooms used for fruits and vegetables, has been reported to increase the controlled EO release from the EO–β-cyclodextrin (EO− β CD) inclusion complex [ 18 , 20 ].…”

Active Cardboard Packaging With Encapsulated Essential Oils for Enhancing the Shelf Life of Fruit and Vegetables

“…Weight of packages containing the product was monitored at each sampling time to determine the weight loss (%) of samples during storage ( 30 ). Dry matter content (%) was also monitored for lettuce as a good-quality index of solids changes (sugars and organic acids) during storage.…”

Cyclodextrins, Natural Compounds, and Plant Bioactives—A Nutritional Perspective

“…CDs have been used in food and pharmaceutical products for many years, largely to form inclusion complexes with problematic drugs to enhance their solubility [ 55 ]. In addition, previous studies have shown that CDs are useful as an antibacterial food packaging material when forming inclusion complexes with natural antimicrobial agents such as thymol and carvacrol [ 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ]. This embedment of an antibacterial agent into food packaging material is one strategy to inhibit bacterial growth.…”