Eco-friendly and flexible polysaccharide-based packaging films for fruit preservation

Food safety and wastage caused by fruit deterioration is a serious global problem. Effective packaging systems for extending the freshness period of fruit play a key role in food safety. In this work, we constructed an eco-friendly and flexible polysaccharide-based packaging film based on hydroxypropyl guar (HPG), cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), deep eutectic solvents (DES) and anthocyanin (Anth). DES could endow polysaccharide films with multiple hydrogen bond numbers and good stability. Hydroxypropyl guar/cellulose nanocrystals/anthocyanin with 0.2 g deep eutectic solvents (HCA-DES_0.2) had good tensile properties, oxygen barrier properties (3.01 cm³/m²·day·Pa), water resistance (WCA 111.97°), antibacterial (CFU ˂ 10³), and transparency (55.4 %). The preservation tests of grape and blueberry showed that the shelf life of these two fruits was 12-20 days, and the polysaccharide film had great application potential in fruit preservation.