Design, characterization and evaluation of gallic acid incorporated carboxymethyl cellulose based composite films for postharvest fruit preservation

The persistent environmental problems related with petroleum-based packaging has encouraged the development of sustainable active food packaging systems. In this study active biocomposite film composed of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and PVA-PEG graft copolymer (PC) was developed by using solvent casting method. The optimized formulation CMC (3.69%) and PC (7.68%) predicted by the CCD model demonstrated strong model fit with R² = 0.9325 (TS) and 0.9492 (WCA). Furthermore, the incorporation of GA (16% w/w), in the film demonstrated improved tensile strength (16.77 MPa), surface hydrophobicity (94.2^o). Additionally, GA incorporated film exhibited high antioxidant activity (90% DPPH scavenging) and antibacterial efficacy for E. coli and S. aureus. The film demonstrated great potential in preservation of fresh-cut pineapple for 7 days and physical disintegration within 14 days. Overall, these findings highlight the developed film's potential as a sustainable post-harvest packaging solution for fruit shelf-life extension and quality preservation.