Eugenol-based aluminium packaging: antibacterial performance for cooked ham and cheese preservation and risk assessment for consumer safety

Food contamination and spoilage compromise both safety and commercial value, highlighting the need for innovative preservation technologies. In this study, two vinyl resin coatings were applied to flexible aluminum foil to develop novel antimicrobial packaging materials: one containing free eugenol and the other incorporating eugenol-loaded Santa Barbara Amorphous-15 (SBA15) mesoporous silica particles. Material safety for food contact was assessed through migration tests following European Regulation 10/2011 using 10 % and 95 % ethanol, as food simulants, for 10 days at 20 °C. While overall migration confirmed the compliance of both materials, specific migration analysis demonstrated that only the eugenol-loaded SBA15 coating met regulatory safety limits, making it the only suitable candidate for food packaging.

The antimicrobial performance of this optimized coating was evaluated against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and mesophilic aerobic flora in Taleggio cheese and cooked ham stored at 5 °C for 10 days. The highest bacterial reduction was observed for S. aureus, with 2.77 log CFU/g and 2.13 log CFU/g decreases in Taleggio cheese and cooked ham, respectively. Sensory analysis confirmed that the coating did not significantly alter the organoleptic properties of the cheese.

These findings underscore the potential of eugenol-functionalized SBA15 aluminum packaging as a safe and effective solution for prolonging food shelf life, ensuring microbial safety while maintaining product quality.