*Overview of Food Antimicrobial Packaging DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108666*

anticorrosion properties has increased, particularly as UV absorbers [90–92]. Many studies demonstrated that ZnO nanoparticles exhibited superior chemical stability under UV radiation compared to other UV absorbers [47–49, 93]. The aim of the work of Mizielińska et al. [92], was to examine the effect of accelerated UV-aging on the antimicrobial activity of PLA films containing ZnO nanoparticles incorporated into a polymer matrix against selected microorganisms. The active foil samples were irradiated with UV-A and Q-SUN. The authors were able to demonstrate that PLA films with incorporated zinc oxide nanoparticles did not inhibit the growth of *S. aureus, B. cereus, E. coli, Bacillus atrophaeus*, and *Candida albicans* cells, but decreased the cell number. Accelerated UV-A aging had no negative influence on the chemical composition and the antimicrobial activity of the active film against gram-positive bacteria but influenced the antimicrobial effectiveness of gram-negative and *C. albicans* cells. Q-SUN irradiation decreased the antimicrobial activity of films with incorporated nano-ZnO against *B. cereus*. The greater effectiveness of antimicrobial packaging materials containing ZnO nanoparticles was observed when the active agent was introduced into the methyl hydroxypropyl celluloses (MHPC) carrier which was used to coat PE films [90]. These active coatings completely inhibited the growth of *S. aureus, B. cereus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa* and reduced the number of *C. albicans* cells. The influence of accelerated UV-A and Q-SUN irradiation on the antimicrobial properties of these active layers was also analyzed. Accelerated Q-SUN and UV-A irradiation had no influence on the effectiveness of the covered foil samples against *S. aureus, B. cereus,* and *E. coli*. Q-SUN irradiation decreased the activity of the MHPC coating containing nanoparticles only against *P. aeruginosa* and *C. albicans* cells. The negative influence of UV-aging on the chemical composition of the coatings due to the presence of ZnO nanoparticles was not observed. Another example can be PLA films which were covered with an MHPC/cocoa butter carrier, containing *Eucomis comosa* extract as an active, antimicrobial agent [91]. The covered, active films were treated with accelerated UV-A and Q-SUN irradiation. Later, the authors analyzed the effect of UV-aging on the antimicrobial properties and chemical composition of the coatings. It was noted that MHPC/cocoa butter coating containing *E. comosa* extract reduced the number of *S. aureus, B. cereus*, and *B. atrophaeus*. The accelerated UV-A and Q-SUN irradiations altered the chemical composition of the coating, but they had no influence on the antimicrobial properties of *E. comosa* extract coatings against both *S. aureus* and *B. cereus*. It was confirmed that only Q-SUN irradiation decreased to a small degree the effectiveness of the coating against *B. atrophaeus*.
