Fabrication of Chitosan/Konjac Glucomannan Active Composite Films Loaded with Ethyl-Cellulose-Coated D-Limonene Nanoparticles for Fresh Beef Preservation

Petroleum-derived plastic packaging suffers from poor degradability, environmental pollution and small-molecule migration. To develop high-performance green active packaging, we fabricated composite films via solution casting using chitosan (CS), konjac glucomannan (KGM), and ethyl-cellulose-coated D-limonene nanoparticles (DENPs). Compared with the CS/KGM control film, the optimized CS/KGM/DENPs 15% film increased tensile strength by 72% (18.05 MPa) and elongation at break by 67% (46.65%), and achieved improved UV shielding, water vapor and oxygen barrier performance, with oxygen permeability decreased to 5.32 × 10−8 g·mm/m2·s·Pa. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed intermolecular hydrogen bond interactions between CS and KGM. The composite films exerted obvious antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Brochothrix thermosphacta. When applied for chilled-beef preservation, the CS/KGM/DENPs 15% film effectively retarded beef spoilage, maintained meat color and pH, and suppressed lipid–protein oxidation. Under the present experimental conditions, it prolonged the acceptable storage period of chilled beef to approximately 15 d. Meanwhile, the composite film achieved a maximum weight loss of 85.66% within 28 d during soil burial disintegration, showing great potential as an eco-friendly active food-packaging material for industrial applications.