Electrospinning ethylene vinyl alcohol-bayberry anthocyanins-carvacrol (EVOH-BAs-CA) fiber membrane with light transmittance response to ethanol for monitoring bayberry freshness

Ethylene vinyl alcohol-bayberry anthocyanins-carvacrol (EVOH-BAs-CA) membrane is developed for fruit freshness monitoring and maintaining. • BAs endow the membrane antioxidant activity. • Antibacterial activity of the membrane is from the control released CA. • EVOH-BAs-CA membrane has a reversible transparency response to ethanol exudate. In this study, a visual freshness indicator based on electrospun fibers membrane was fabricated, which relies on ethanol-responsive light transmittance to evaluate fruit freshness. Carvacrol (CA) and bayberry anthocyanins (BAs) were incorporated into ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) matrix to prepare the composite membrane for bayberry freshness monitoring and preservation. The EVOH-BAs-CA membrane was initially opaque and turned transparent, as ethanol (EtOH) exudates released from spoiled bayberry induced a rapid increase in light transmittance during storage. The membrane showed high sensitivity to ethanol exudates, retaining a transmittance above 60% after 10 reuse cycles. Additionally, the EVOH-BAs-CA membrane exhibits strong antibacterial and antioxidant properties and can approximately prolong the freshness of bayberry for 4 days, which resulted from the effective release of CA and BAs. The implementation of the EVOH-BAs-CA membrane in visual freshness monitoring for bayberry highlights its significant potential within intelligent packaging systems. Download: Download high-res image (127KB) Download: Download full-size image