Publisher Summary This chapter presents some recent developments in active packaging based on the use of biopolymers. Active packaging means a food/package/environment system that works in a coordinated way to improve the quality and safety of the packaged food and increase its shelf-life. Many different types of active packaging have been proposed for combating different food quality loss or deterioration problems. They include controlling the gases inside the package, regulating the moisture content, adding chemical preservatives, adding aromas, removing foreign odors and undesirable substances, and controlling microbiological contamination. The materials used as substrates are generally conventional synthetic polymers. Active packages to control microbiological contamination and oxidation problems in packaged foods are currently the types of active packaging with the greatest degree of development and commercial introduction. Other active systems are also receiving attention, including those that try to retain or add components that may be beneficial for maintaining the quality or safety of the packaged foods, such as ethylene control, moisture regulation, the addition of aromas or the removal of foreign odors and undesirable substances.

This chapter provides an overview of the recycling of the food packaging materials. Recycling is the reprocessing of the waste material in a production process either for the original purpose or for other purposes. The availability of packaging materials that are accurately sorted, washed, and free from contaminants is a prerequisite for their recycling. The mere technical feasibility of the recycling is that only one of the elements rendering such processes is economically worthwhile. The costs associated with collection and sorting are of primary importance in the economic balance, since they might result in different qualities of the input stream and therefore influence the quality and the value of the secondary raw materials. Costs related to logistics and transportation also play an important role in the economic balance, because of the volume of the packaging to be transported. Recyclability of packaging is not always driven by environmental goals; however, economic, political, and social factors play a major role. Waste minimization, best use of natural resources, and limitation of the environmental impact of post-use packaging are the benefits of packaging recycling. Recycling, however, is not always the best environmental option. It should be weighed against other forms of minimization of the environmental impact, such as energy recovery, which in specific eco-balances might lead to more favorable scenarios.

Publisher Summary The current attitude of the global society regarding the direction in which food packaging technology should evolve comprises two main concepts. The first focuses on maximum efficiency with minimum burden to the environment by use of the most environmentally friendly solutions that can provide the protective functionality required for food safety and integrity. Cost-efficient biodegradable materials and even edible packaging with improved technical characteristics are being intensively researched. The second concept aims to achieve additional functionality from the food packaging. Active, intelligent packaging allows for more than passive protection, potentially providing valuable information about the quality and safety status of the food product and contributes to better management of the food chain, reduction of food waste, and increased protection of the consumer. The communicative ‘intelligence' of a package refers to its ability to give information about the requirements of the product quality, such as package integrity and time–temperature history of the product. Intelligent packaging also gives information on product quality directly. Freshness indicators indicate directly the quality of the product. Thus a signal of microbiological quality could be a result of a reaction between the indicator and the metabolites produced during the growth of the microflora of the product.

Publisher Summary Food packaging was created to facilitate trade and transportation of commodities over long distances. These commodities include both perishable as well as non-perishable foods. The packaging industry has transformed into a highly sophisticated and intelligent service industry, particularly for perishable foods. Extrusion, baking, thermoforming, casting, blow molding, injection molding, lamination, calendaring, and coating are some of the major plastic processing methods that are currently utilized by the plastic industry in producing food packaging. Biochemical and engineering tools are being used to improve and optimize the properties of biopolymers. Approaches include: chemical cross-linking, chemical grafting, chemical substitutions/derivatizations, biocatalysis, plasticization, novel processing, blending and compatibilization with other polymers and additives. Research efforts on the use of starch-, Polylactic acid (PLA) and PHBV-based blends and hybrid composites for food packaging applications will be reviewed in the subsequent sections along with the future outlook for these materials. Life cycle assessment (LCA) documents the environmental profile over the life of the product, also known as ‘cradle to grave' analyses of the environmental impact or the product's ‘environmental footprint'. This information helps to evaluate the product's overall sustainability and the entire environmental economy.

Publisher Summary Packaging can be defined as all products made of any material of any nature to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, and presentation of goods from raw materials to processed foods, from the producer to the user or the consumer. Environmentally friendly packaging is supposed to highly respect and minimize to the maximum extent its repercussions on the environment. There are many legislative and environmental considerations that make packaging so important. This chapter describes the adjustments and improvements that are being made to the Directives to ensure that they address every possible issue related to environmental and health protection. This chapter focuses on the current packaging waste legislation and foodstuff-contact legislation in the European Union (EU), packaging legislation applicable to biodegradable materials, and to indicate in general which provisions the packaging industry must fulfill to ensure that EU targets are complied with. The EU legislation aims to assimilate all the national legislation of the Member States to generate new complete Directives that all the Member States are required to follow. The achievement of the Single Market is associated with the removal of barriers to free trade, such as tariffs and equivalent taxes, quantitative restrictions to imports, or technical rules with an equivalent effect.

Publisher Summary The amount of food packaging consumed globally continues to increase, with significant impacts on the natural environment. The environmental impacts of packaging include resource consumption, land degradation, air and water pollution and global warming, and they occur at every stage of the packaging supply chain. This chapter discusses a series of eco-design principles which, if followed in the product design process, would support the development of more sustainable packaging. These principles are illustrated through detailed eco-design strategies and case studies. The overarching goal of eco-design is sustainable development. Eco-design is one of the many initiatives being implemented by companies in the manufacturing sector under the general banner of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in order to reduce their environmental impacts. Product stewardship is the principle that all companies in a product supply chain share responsibility for reducing the product's environmental impacts. Non-government organizations have been actively campaigning for increased regulation of packaging for many years. Eco-design is not rocket science. It is a straightforward process that should become an integral part of the design process rather than an add-on for niche green products.

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and biopolymers. A biopolymer is made from a crop, which is a renewable resource. When a biopolymer biodegrades or is incinerated, the carbon dioxide released can be considered to be reabsorbed by the next crop that is farmed to produce more biopolymer. This fact is used to support claims that biopolymers are carbon neutral and do not contribute to global warming. The biodegradation of many biopolymers takes considerable heat and so, biodegradation might only be successful in a commercial bio-reactor composter rather than in a home composting situation. LCA is the most widely accepted method used to measure the environmental performance of packaging. LCA reveals that currently biopolymers face certain challenges in environmental terms. It cannot be assumed that present day biopolymers automatically achieve better environmental performance than traditional polymers simply because their perceived benefits of renewability and biodegradability are inherently appealing. However, the chapter suggests that the future of biopolymers is bright.

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces the general concept of barrier properties and the need for these in food packaging applications and also describes the phenomenology of transport in polymers. The biomaterials that show a lot of potential in food packaging applications are directly extracted from biomass. These materials have excellent barrier properties to oxygen under dry conditions and are transparent. The chapter discusses the novel plastic strategies and technologies for monolayer packaging. Novel developments in plastic materials come from five different sources, namely, new synthetic polymers, biomass-derived polymers, polymer blends, nano-composites, and surface or coating technologies. Currently, polymeric materials for high barrier applications have been challenged with a broad range of stringent property requirements including: ease of processing; higher barrier properties to permanent gases, moisture and low molecular weight organic compounds; excellent chemical resistance; perm-selectivity; low relative humidity dependence for the barrier performance; and ease of recycling, biodegradability or compostability. The chapter also reviews the role of the nano-composites and the nano-biocomposites as the most promising monolayer technology currently available for enhancing barrier properties and designing sustainable and more efficient active and bioactive systems for current and future food packaging applications.

Publisher Summary The consumers increasingly demand food that is healthy, convenient, and quick to prepare; thus, the selection of appropriate packaging materials to ensure that the food's nutritional value and shelf-life are maintained is becoming complex. Not only does the packaging development team need to ensure compatibility between product and packaging materials, required shelf-life, production line efficiency and cost, but they also need to consider the environmental impacts associated with the selection, use, and post-consumer waste management of the discarded packaging system. The approaches range from bans or taxes on particular materials through to voluntary programs. Therefore, the decisions about which packaging materials to select would be influenced to some degree by the policy approach in a particular country. In response to the increasing concerns and the needs of industry to balance the functional requirements of packaging materials with the environmental burdens of their production, use and post-consumer waste management, several international collaborative partnerships are leading the way in the debate on what constitutes sustainable packaging.

Commercially important starch is obtained from corn, wheat, rice, potatoes, tapioca, and peas. Starch is a polysaccharide that is produced in almost all plants by photosynthesis. Naturally occurring starch is present in the form of semi-crystalline granules, which vary in shape, granule size, size distribution, association, and chemical composition. Starch consists of two components: amylose and amylopectin. Edible or biodegradable packagings made from various biological resources and their applications have recently been investigated. Cellulose ethers have been used as ingredients in coatings for fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, confectionery, bakery, grains, and other agricultural products. Dehydration and growth of microbial organisms in food products have been delayed by using edible and biodegradable films and coatings. Moreover, the flavor, odor and overall organoletic characteristics were not modified. Many materials from biological resources have been used for edible or biodegradable film and coating formulations, such as polysaccharides, proteins, lipids or their mixtures. The properties of edible films depend on the type of film-forming materials and especially on their structural cohesion. Additives—such as plasticizers, cross-linking agents, anti-microbial agents, anti-oxidants, and texture agents—are used to alter the functional properties of the films. Among the natural polymers, starch has been considered as one of the most promising candidates for future materials because of the attractive combination of price, availability and thermoplasticity.