Self-healing packaging films/coatings for food applications; an emerging strategy

Food packaging (FP) plays a crucial role in maintaining food quality, and the integrity of FP is directly linked to its barrier properties, which ultimately affects the preservation ability of FP materials. Therefore, incorporation of self-healing (SH) properties has emerged as an intriguing approach to enhance the performance of FP materials. Materials possessing SH properties can sustain their integrity through dynamic covalent bonds and/or non-covalent interactions, thereby continuously preserving the barrier properties of FP materials. In this study, our focus lies in exploring SH materials for FP films/coatings. We provide a summary of the mechanisms underlying biopolymeric SH materials, discuss the preparation methods for biopolymeric SH FP films/coatings, and present the latest advancements in their application for food preservation. Finally, we outline the future opportunities and challenges associated with the application of SH materials in FP.