The potential of active packaging for tuna

Tuna is a food that is easily damaged and external appearance of tuna is an important consideration to determine the sale value, so handling tuna must be done carefully, quickly, and low temperatures are used immediately after catching. In addition, good handling can increase shelf life and maintain tuna freshness. Active packaging is one technique that can be developed to extend shelf life while maintaining product quality to stay fresh. A method of food storage that is safe and biodegradable is by packaging with edible coating or edible film. Several types of materials that can be used as materials for making edible coatings are sago starch, corn starch and chitosan. Active packaging developed with antimicrobials will play a role in reducing or inhibiting the growth of microbes that grow on food and maintain the integrity and prevent product damage during the shelf life. The advantages of products that are packaged with edible coating are able to reduce water activity on the surface of the material so that damage by microorganisms can be avoided, able to improve the surface structure so that the surface becomes shiny; able to reduce dehydration so that weight loss can be prevented.