Chapter 14 - Intelligent Systems in the Food Packaging Industry: Contaminant Sensors and Security/Anticounterfeiting Devices

Abstract

Nanotechnology applications have gained more importance in food and beverage packaging industry especially for preventing contaminations and counterfeiting. Several nanomaterials are used for these purposes: silver, gold, and metal oxide nanoparticles, hybrid organic–inorganic systems with antimicrobial properties, indicators, nanocarriers of antimicrobials, nanosensors, and nanomaterial-based assays for the detection of food relevant analytes, etc. In recent years, contactless applications of nanotechnology in food and beverage industry showed a dramatic increase due to consumer demands for healthier products; more researchers are interested in this field and more researches have been conducted. Considering the large numbers of researches conducted on this issue it can be said that the majority of these researches are related to some nanotechnological applications developed to prevent counterfeiting and contamination and also provide security in food products. Nanosensors and nanodevices that were used for these purposes are integrated to the food, beverage, and also pharmaceutical packages to provide security/anticounterfeiting and to warn the consumers about the contamination state of the products. This chapter reviews the nanotechnological applications of contaminant sensors and security/anticounterfeiting devices.