LIGNIN-BASED ACTIVE FOOD PACKAGING: FROM FUNCTIONAL PROMISE TO FOOD-USE READINESS AND PRACTICAL CHALLENGES
Keywords:
Lignin, active food packaging, lignin nanoparticles, food preservation, food-contact safety, technology readiness, biodegradable filmsAbstract
Lignin-based active food packaging has emerged as a promising route for linking food preservation, renewable material use, and valorisation of lignocellulosic side streams. The aromatic and phenolic structure of lignin enables ultraviolet shielding, radical scavenging, interfacial reinforcement, and barrier improvement in biodegradable films and coatings. Nevertheless, these material functions do not automatically establish practical readiness for food packaging. This critical review evaluates the progress of lignin-based active packaging from laboratory film development toward food-use application by connecting structure–function relationships with real food preservation, food-contact safety, migration, sensory quality, processing scalability, environmental performance, economic feasibility, and regulatory credibility. Current evidence supports lignin most strongly as a UV-protective and antioxidant additive, whereas antimicrobial performance remains less predictable and depends on lignin source, extraction route, molecular structure, particle form, polymer matrix, formulation design, and target food system. Recent studies on bread, mango, fish, banana, strawberry, apple, tomato, ketchup, and other perishable foods demonstrate encouraging preservation effects, particularly when lignin is used within designed active systems rather than as a standalone preservative. However, the field remains dominated by material-level characterisation, with limited standardised lignin reporting, real-food validation, migration and toxicity assessment, sensory analysis, regulatory evaluation, and integrated techno-economic and life cycle assessment. The most defensible pathway forward is application-specific validation, where lignin functions are matched to defined deterioration mechanisms such as photooxidation, lipid oxidation, fungal spoilage, moisture loss, browning, or barrier failure. This shift is necessary for advancing lignin-based active food packaging from a promising material concept toward an evidence-based food-packaging technology.
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