**1. Introduction**

Packaging, as an essential component of both the food manufacturing process and the entire food supply chain, plays an essential role in the safeguarding of food products [1, 2]. A fundamental and vital role of food packaging is to preserve food quality and safety, reduce food waste and foodborne diseases, and limit the negative impact of uneaten food on the environment and the global economy [2]. It should be noted that the packaging itself is a coordinated system for product safety, as well as being an efficient and practical method for shipment, marketing, storage, retailing, and consumption to increase sales and profits for producers and retailers and maintain food quality for consumers. Packaging must be able to meet all quality requirements while being cost-effective and efficient. It is important to permit brands to form and standardize packaging and also to create effective advertising and make a large-scale distribution

and global retailing possible [1]. However, it should not be forgotten that food packaging systems must primarily protect food from environmental contamination, shock, outside odor, dust, physical damage, and mechanical force, as well as temperature, moisture, gas release, light, microorganism contamination, water and water vapor, in addition to other external environmental factors during processing, transport/distribution, storage, and marketing. It should maintain the basic attributes of food, such as texture, color, taste, and quality of the food products, as well as microbial purity resulting from the increase in food shelf-life, and subsequently the reduction of food waste. The main causes of food deterioration, such as microbial spoilage or oxidation, may be avoided by the application of the appropriate packaging systems [3–5]. The oxidation of food products may result in decreased nutritional value, energy content, flavor, and color, thus decreasing the quality of food. On the other hand, microbial spoilage might not only result in a decrease in food quality [3, 4]. Foodborne diseases through the consumption of food products containing pathogenic bacteria or fungi can contribute to serious health issues or even the death of consumers [1, 3]. Fresh food and animal-originated food products are mostly contaminated by bacteria [3, 6]. Most frequently health issues are caused by pathogenic bacteria, such as *Salmonella* spp*., Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium* spp., and *Campylobacter jejuni* [3, 7]. Filamentous fungi are also considered a severe pathogen in food products, due to their ability to penetrate and break down food using extracellular enzymes [1]. Vegetables, fruits, and grain crops are vulnerable to fungal strain contamination, mostly from *Penicillium* spp., *Aspergillus* spp., *Botrytis* spp., *Sclerotinia* spp., *Alternaria* spp., *Fusarium* spp., *Rhizoctonia* spp., *Geotrichum* spp., *Phytophthora* spp., and *Pythium* spp. [1, 8]. To avoid food oxidation or pathogen entry and any growth inside food products with extended shelf life during their storage, various active packaging systems can be used [1, 3, 4].
