Antimicrobial Packaging from Potato Starch and Pectin with Citric Acid and Bioactive Compounds from Cashew Apple: Preparation, Characterization, and Application in Bread

This study aimed to develop and characterize active antimicrobial films composed of potato starch and pectin, by incorporating inverted sugar as a plasticizer and bioactive compounds from cashew (CC) and citric acid (CA) as additives for application in bread packaging. Five treatments were formulated by the solution casting method: F0 (without CC-0.5% CA), F1 (1% CC-0.25% CA), F3 (3% CC-0.5% CA), F6 (6% CC-1% CA), and C1 (without CC and CA). Two other controls were used in the bread application (C2: low-density polyethylene and C3: unpackaged bread). Treatments with additives exhibited an increased water vapor permeability compared to C1; F6 showed the highest value (7.62 × 10^–4 g H₂O mm/m² h mmHg). Conversely, C1 demonstrated superior tensile strength (21.13 MPa) compared to the other treatments, while films containing additives displayed heightened elongation (507.19%) relative to C1. Color parameters indicated a decrease in L* values (88.95), accompanied by an increase in a* (0.62) and b* (16.64) values for the high-concentration treatment (F6). Additionally, F6 degraded completely within 8 days. Therefore, the application of active films (F1 and F3) acted as antimicrobial packaging for bread, extending its microbiological stability 4-fold from 7 to 28 days. Future studies should explore the optimization of film formulations and their scalability for commercial applications.