Developments in Food Packaging for Enhancing Food Quality and Safety

Abstract

With the current advancements in packaging technology, the role of a food package is not just limited to preserve the food, but also to help increase the food quality and safety. Increasing consumer’s desire for ready-to-eat, convenient, tasty food with better storage life necessitates the need to develop new food packaging technologies. Emerging techniques such as intelligent packaging, bioactive packaging systems, and active packaging technology work effectively by creating a food package that intentionally interact with the food or its surroundings and extend its storage life. These techniques perform several functions, which include increase in shelf life, enhancing the nutritional value, controlling the microbial load, and monitoring it in real time. These functions can be achieved by applying indicators (time temperature indicators, freshness indicator, and ripeness indicator), bioactive compounds, radio frequency identification devices, oxygen scavengers, etc., to the food package. These innovative packaging technology should work synergistically to yield a multi-purpose food package, so that most of the benefits from novel packaging technology will be achieved in a single food package. This chapter lays emphasis on the functions and mechanisms of the innovative food packaging technologies, their future aspects, and their contribution to enhancing food quality and safety.