Vacuum packing

Shelf life

Pathology

Organic chemistry

Chemistry

Active packaging

Alternative medicine

Grape seed extract

Antioxidant

Staphylococcus aureus

ABTS

DPPH

Food science

Antimicrobial

Bacteria

Genetics

Preservative

Medicine

Food packaging

Biology

Food Control

The combined use of ultraviolet-C light-emitting diodes (UV–C LED) irradiation and antimicrobial packaging film was used to secure the safety of fresh-cut vegetables. The antimicrobial packaging film was prepared by adding grapefruit seed extract (GSE) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) to a blend film of poly(lactide) (PLA) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT). The GSE and ZnO added film (PLA/PBAT/GSE/ZnO film) showed moderate antioxidant activity of about 36.3% and 21.9% in the ABTS and DPPH methods, respectively, and exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) and Staphylococcus aureus. The UV-C LED treatment reduced EHEC by 0.47, 0.55, and 0.61 Log CFU/g and S. aureus by 0.46, 0.39, and 0.33 Log CFU/g of fresh-cut onion, cabbage, and carrot, respectively. The combined UV-C LED irradiation and antimicrobial packaging showed a significant synergistic effect in reducing the bacteria during storage. After 7 days of storage at 10 °C, it showed 2.02, 2.82, and 2.06 log CFU/g lower E. coli, and 1.59, 1.77, and 1.47 log CFU/g lower S. aureus in onion, cabbage, and carrot, respectively, than the control group. The combined use of UV-C LED and antimicrobial packaging has a high potential to extend the shelf life of fresh-cut vegetables without heat treatment or the addition of chemical preservatives.

Synergistic effect of UV-C LED irradiation and PLA/PBAT-based antimicrobial packaging film on fresh-cut vegetables