Preparation and properties of antibacterial food-preservative paper incorporating ceramic pigments

Ag@ceramic composite papermaking pigment was prepared by coating silver onto red ceramic powder using the electroless plating method. SEM and XRD showed that the ceramic pigments have a porous crystalline structure and that silver particles had been successfully loaded onto the surface and into the pores of the Ag@ceramic. Untreated ceramic pigment and Ag@ceramic pigment were incorporated into paper sheets by coating, filling and filling-coating. Using spinach as an example, the ability of the different papers to preserve food was then evaluated. Four indicators were used to assess the preservative effect of the papers: inhibition of growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, weight loss of the spinach and retention of vitamin C and chlorophyll in the spinach. Although the ceramic preservative paper has no antibacterial properties, it reduced weight loss from the spinach and increased retention of vitamin C and chlorophyll. The antibacterial preservative papers inhibited the growth of E. coli and S. aureus by >99%, and because of their additional antibacterial activity, these papers preserved the spinach more effectively. The experimental results showed that the antibacterial food-preservative paper incorporating ceramic pigments had great potential in food packing applications.