Nanotechnology in Innovative Food Preservation and Packaging

Abstract

Food packaging has advanced from a simple glass or metal container in the past to an environment responsive and intelligent today to meet the common primary goal of every stakeholder in the food supply value chain that ensures the quality and the safety of the food items. Apart from the conventional function of product protection and acting as an inert barrier against the environment, modern-day packaging offer features like antimicrobial, oxygen and ethylene scavenging, carbon dioxide absorbers/emitters, aroma emitters, ripeness indicators, and biosensors, as well as sensors that can provide information about quality, monitor, and communicate on the history of the product. Recent research has shown the potential benefit of nanotechnology in food packaging applications. Nanoparticles not only improve the properties of conventional packaging, but they also actively demonstrate antimicrobial, scavenging, and improved sensitivity in the case of sensors. This chapter gives a perspective on the stakeholder’s incentives to minimize food waste, recent emerging trends in nano-enabled packaging are intended for food packaging applications, safety regulation on the nanoparticle-containing food packaging, and future prospects.