Food packaging generates a large volume of waste materials and >90% of the waste plastics are landfilled. The growing demand for high quality and safe packaging materials have resulted in the longer shelf life of foods packed with eco-friendly materials. This needs natural base materials for packaging applications, along with active ingredients that can extend the shelf life of the food materials. One such development in the field of active packaging is antimicrobial packaging. Out of the many antimicrobial agents used, the essential oils (EO) are gaining more importance especially due to their high activity. This review aims to give an insight into the developments in active food packaging, especially with EO. Various biopolymer containing EO have been used for food packaging applications. An insight into the recent approaches used for the casting of biopolymer films with EO is given. The effect of EO on the physical properties of the biopolymer films, the migration and release of the active agents on to the food surface, and the mechanism of action have been highlighted. The challenges and opportunities of EO for the food packaging industry have been discussed.

食品包装会产生大量的废料，而超过90％的废塑料被填埋。对高质量和安全包装材料的需求不断增长，导致使用环保材料包装的食品的保质期延长。这需要用于包装应用的天然基础材料以及可以延长食品材料保质期的活性成分。活性包装领域中的一种此类发展是抗菌包装。在使用的许多抗菌剂中，精油（EO）变得越来越重要，尤其是由于它们的高活性。这篇综述旨在深入了解主动式食品包装的发展，特别是EO。各种含EO的生物聚合物已用于食品包装应用。给出了对最近使用EO浇铸生物聚合物薄膜的方法的见解。EO对生物聚合物膜的物理性质，活性剂向食物表面的迁移和释放以及作用机理的影响已得到强调。讨论了EO对食品包装行业的挑战和机遇。