Recent advances in biopolymer-based antibacterial food packaging with natural antimicrobial agents

The growing emphasis on environmental protection, together with plastic-restriction policies and dual-carbon goals, has driven the food packaging industry to replace non-degradable petrochemical polymers with renewable bio-based materials such as cellulose, starch, and chitosan. Incorporating natural antimicrobials into biodegradable polymer matrices offers a promising strategy to develop active packaging that inhibits microbial growth, ensures food safety, and extends shelf life. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in antibacterial food packaging based on biopolymers incorporated with natural antimicrobial agents, which are classified as plant-derived (spices, herbs, and essential oils), animal-derived (chitosan, lysozyme, lactoferrin, and lactoperoxidase), and microbial-derived (bacteriocins, nisin, bacteriophages, reuterin, and pediocin) agents. Their antimicrobial mechanisms and packaging applications are elaborated, alongside four typical antibacterial packaging strategies. Notably, chitosan, starch and sodium alginate are promising matrices for chemical modification; cross-linking, grafting and esterification can improve matrix-agent interfacial compatibility to tailor active-compound release kinetics. Finally, the remaining challenges, including matrix-agent compatibility, migration of active agents, and safety concerns, as well as future directions toward industrial-scale application, are highlighted. This review provides a comprehensive reference for developing natural antimicrobial food packaging to reduce environmental pollution while improving food quality and safety.