Novel biodegradable antimicrobial film and its suitability as food contact material against Campylobacter spp.

Our study focused on developing biodegradable active films with antibacterial properties against pathogenic Campylobacter spp. For that purpose, an Inclusion Complex (IC) synthesized with β-cyclodextrin, and benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), was incorporated by extrusion into polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polylactic acid (PLA), at 2.5 and 5 %, and films were prepared by hot-pressing. The anti- Campylobacter effect was assessed by direct contact and in vapour phase. The IC alone exhibited strong antibacterial activity comparable to pure BITC. PHB_IC films showed good antibacterial performance, achieving total inhibition of C. jejuni at 2.5 % and C. coli at 5 %, and yielding inhibition halos up to 50 mm in vapour phase. Contrarily, PLA_IC films showed no antibacterial effect, and BITC was not detected, likely due to differences in polymer matrix or extrusion conditions. To further investigate the use of these films as food contact materials, migration tests into food simulants were conducted. Volatile and non-volatile compounds were identified by GC-MS and UPLC-QTOF-MS, with most being intentionally added and only three detected as non-intentionally added substances. Overall, the developed PHB-based material showed strong anti- Campylobacter spp., no detectable migrants from the IC, and industrial scalability, supporting its potential for active food packaging, although further studies are needed. • Pure BITC and its inclusion complex (IC) showed high antibacterial properties • Incorporation of IC into polymers was developed by industrial scalable processes • PLA_IC films did not show any anti- Campylobacter activity • PHB_IC films were highly active against Campylobacter in direct and indirect contact • Compounds found in migration tests were mostly classified as IAS