Temperature-regulating materials for advanced food packaging applications: a review

Abstract

The use of temperature-regulating material (TRM)-based food packaging is recently trending in the food science and technology sectors. Although this technology is still not fully commercially viable, it has good potential to control the temperature of perishable and high-value agricultural products during transport. Scope and approach: Firstly, this paper describes all the aspects of TRM packaging, including their classification, various technical approaches, and commercial applications, with special focus on the direct integration of TRMs into food packaging systems. Secondly, to provide useful guidelines for future research in the field, this paper discusses some important aspects that still hinder the full exploitation of TRM technology within the food packaging industry. To make the TRM packaging systems commercially viable, future research needs to consider some important aspects including cost, consumer acceptance and confidence, regulatory aspects (e.g., labeling), and multi-functionality.