Active packaging for vegetables: latest innovations and future research directions

Active packaging is an important innovation in maintaining quality, safety, and extending the shelf life of fresh vegetables, which have more vulnerable postharvest physiological characteristics compared to fruit, such as high respiration rates, rapid water loss, and sensitivity to wilting. This study aims to examine the development of research on active packaging for vegetables through a bibliometric approach and systematic review. The results show that publications on active packaging for vegetables have increased significantly over the past 25 years, with a sharp surge during the 2019–2024 period and a peak in the number of documents in 2024. India is the most productive country based on the number of documents, while Brazil has the highest number of citations. Keyword co-occurrence analysis indicates that active packaging is the central theme connected to major clusters such as 1-methylcyclopropene, biodegradable, antibacterial, antimicrobial activity, and chitosan. Recent trends also point to topics like bioactive compounds, polyphenols, ethylene scavenger, polylactic acid, biodegradable film, controlled release, food safety, nanotechnology, and coating. Additionally, the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules is identified as the main publication hub, with many contributions from India, China, and Brazil. Overall, this study emphasizes that the field of active packaging for vegetables is rapidly developing and shows a shift towards the development of biopolymer-based materials and natural compounds that are more environmentally friendly and more specific to the physiological needs of fresh vegetables.