Abstract: Food packaging plays a crucial role in ensuring food safety, extending shelf life and maintaining food quality. However, traditional packaging materials have limitations in terms of controlled release of active ingredients, stability and functionality, rendering them inadequate to meet the demands of the modern food industry for active packaging. Mesoporous materials, due to their high specific surface area, adjustable pore size and surface chemical properties, can serve as ideal carriers for controlled release of functional molecules in active packaging, providing a new solution for food active packaging. In the field of packaging, particularly in food packaging, there are relatively few review articles on mesoporous materials. This paper reviews the development history and preparation methods of mesoporous materials. From the perspectives of organic functional group modification and inorganic nanoparticle loading, it in-depth analyzes the surface modification and functional design of mesoporous materials. The paper systematically reviews recent progress in the application of mesoporous materials in controlled-release active packaging and discusses future development directions and challenges, aiming to provide new insights for the precise controlled release of active packaging and the application of mesoporous materials in active packaging.

Key words: mesoporous materials; active packaging; food; controlled release; application