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

as pullulan, cellulose, or chitosan and its derivatives, are very attractive to provide barrier properties. Additionally, chitosan has been found to be stable and effective against a wide spectrum of microorganisms, where its antimicrobial activity depends on the concentration, molecular weight, and degree of deacetylation. Chitosan solutions in various organic acids may be prepared so that on drying, they form clear, flexible, and tough films/coatings [9, 13]. Mao et al. [9] noted that polymeric coatings based on caseinate, chitosan (CS), and polydopamine were used as carriers to obtain antibacterial packaging. As active agents, natural plant polyphenols and essential oil were used, and the effectiveness of these packaging materials was observed. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and blends of PVA with starch have also been used as coating carriers due to their good film-forming and other functional properties, such as mechanical strength, water-solubility, oxygen barrier properties, transparency, and degradability [9]. In contrast to biopolymer and polymer films, paper-based packaging materials are mainly composed of fibrous cellulose pulp. This is a hydrophilic and porous material with a low barrier against water vapor and oxygen in comparison to plastic-based packaging materials. To improve these properties, covering a surface with coatings is necessary. Hydrophobic coating materials, such as paraffin wax and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBAT), are considered promising candidates as biodegradable coating materials, due to their full biodegradability, thermoplasticity, low water vapor permeability, high flexibility, and good processability. The incorporation of active agents, such as antimicrobials and antioxidants, can make the coatings more valuable. Antimicrobial, active coating materials are usually prepared by blending or mixing antimicrobial substances with biopolymeric base carriers [14]. Recently, nanocellulose-based coatings are also used in food packaging due to their unique properties, such as biodegradability, mechanical properties, transparency, and antimicrobial activity against foodborne pathogens, including *E. coli*, *S. aureus*, *S.* Typhimurium, and *L. monocytogenes* [15–17]. The covering of polymer films or paper with functional biobased, active coatings is a promising approach to improve packaging characteristics (e.g., antimicrobial, water vapor, and gas barrier properties) without compromising the biodegradable and/or recyclable features of packaging materials. The active coatings may demonstrate their effectiveness as antimicrobial packaging [11, 15–17]. In order to prepare antimicrobial coatings using the selected coating carriers, several categories of antimicrobial compounds, (described below in the next section) can be used [11].
