Gelatin/agar-based multifunctional film integrated with copper-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles and clove essential oil Pickering emulsion for enhancing the shelf life of pork meat

[Display omitted] •Gelatin/agar-based active films were fabricated to wrap and preserve pork meat.•The films were added with ZnO@Cu nanoparticles and Clove oil Pickering Emulsion.•ZnO@Cu nanoparticles were antimicrobial while Clove oil acted as antioxidant agents.•The multifunctional films displayed decent transparency but strong UV-shielding.•The wrapped meat showed better microbiological attributes and low lipid oxidation. This work reports the fabrication of copper-modified zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO@Cu) added gelatin/agar-based multifunctional films loaded with clove essential oil Pickering emulsion (PEC). The ZnO@Cu particles were prepared using a simple precipitation method, and their successful synthesis was verified by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) analysis. The clove oil Pickering emulsion was developed using nanocellulose as a solid base. The addition of nanofillers (ZnO@Cu and PEC) improved the films’ physical performance. The films’ UV-shielding property was ∼ 99% enhanced without a significant decrease in their transparency, and the incorporation of fillers also enhanced their mechanical properties. The gelatin/agar films also showed strong antimicrobial activity on ZnO@Cu and PEC addition, where a 100% eradication of L. monocytogenes and ∼ 50% decrease in the E. coli population was detected. Further, the antioxidant activity of the functional films was twice the original value obtained for neat films due to the presence of PEC. The developed multifunctional film was applied to wrap the pork belly meat before vacuum packaging, which helped significantly reduce its total aerobic bacterial count and lipid oxidation. The multifunctional film could successfully improve the shelf life of wrapped meat.