Innovation in food packaging: a literature review

Hamroureche Abir Kafia, Guenif Kahina

Innovation in food packaging: a literature review

Hamroureche Abir Kafia, Guenif Kahina

URI: http://dspace.univ-djelfa.dz:8080/xmlui/handle/112/7750

Date: 2025

Abstract:

The global food system faces significant challenges, including population growth, resource scarcity, and substantial food waste. Traditional packaging, acting primarily as a passive barrier against oxygen, moisture, and light, often fails to prevent spoilage from microbial growth, enzymatic activity, or oxidation. This limitation has driven the evolution towards active (AP) and intelligent packaging (IP), representing a paradigm shift from passive containers to interactive systems that enhance food safety, quality, shelf-life, and communication. While active packaging dynamically interacts with the food or its internal environment to extend shelf-life and maintain quality, intelligent packaging monitors and communicates information about the product's condition or its environment without directly altering it, enabling traceability and quality/safety assessment. This review research aims to explore recent innovations in food packaging, focusing on providing clear definitions and classifications for each type of active and smart packaging, as well as technologies related to manufacturing through to commercial applications

Description:

The food industry is under increasing pressure to meet the needs of a rapidly growing global population, as well as the challenges associated with complying with stringent food safety laws and regulations. Thus, the evolution of food packaging from passive containment to dynamic, interactive systems represents a paradigm shift driven by the urgent global challenges of population growth, resource scarcity, and food waste, which claims nearly one-third of all produced food. Traditional packaging, while effective as a basic barrier against oxygen, moisture, and light, often fails to address spoilage mechanisms like microbial growth, enzymatic activity, oxidation, and physiological degradation, particularly in fresh and minimally processed foods traversing complex supply chains. This limitation has catalyzed the rise of active packaging (AP) and intelligent packaging (IP), which collectively transform packaging into a responsive, multifunctional component of the food system. The use of active and smart packaging in food products is experiencing significant growth, contributing to an improved quality of life for consumers. Furthermore, innovation systems will improve product quality and enhance food safety and security. This thesis highlights the importance and the effectiveness of active and smart packaging, as demonstrated by the numerous scientific studies discussed. The advantages of implementing smart and active packagings in the areas of safety, logistics, and marketing indicate that these systems could become an essential part of the industry, even dominating it within a few years. However, there is still a gap between research activities, laboratory solutions, and market- available products. Indeed, this sector requires greater customization of packaging systems, as food products are highly complex systems, and packaging standards are highly specific to each product. Research efforts should be directed towards bridging this gap, striving to provide specific solutions developed and tested for specific product categories, overcoming these challenges requires successful collaboration between research institutions Despite their transformative potential, the development and widespread adoption of active and smart packaging faces a number of challenges and problems, including: * Legal obstacles: regulatory landscapes remain fragmented and often contradictory. Food safety regulations vary from country to country, resulting in varying legalities for the same type of packaging in international markets. While the European Union has strict legislation on new packaging, the concept of active and smart packaging, which is popular in the US and Australian markets, has yet to be introduced in Europe. This lack of harmonization complicates global trade. Technical difficulties: the main technical obstacle to smart systems lies in the need to develop interactive indicators of freshness that can directly measure the level of contamination or quality of the product. * High cost: the costs of smart and active packaging remain high compared to conventional packaging. Reducing these costs will enable the wider use of these new technologies, opening up a wider range of products. * Societal Concern: consumer acceptance is hindered by concerns over "chemicals" in packaging, ethanol odors, or the environmental impact of non-recyclable nanocomposites. The question we ask ourselves: will the day come when active and intelligent packaging can completely replace traditional packaging? Probably, ongoing research and development will contribute to enhancing the spread of active and smart packaging technology in the future food industry. Some experts believe that the next round of developments in packaging will see the introduction of nanotechnology, which will enable the incorporation of new compounds such as novel antimicrobials and gas-absorbing materials into packaging films. The advancement of electronic devices, which can be manufactured at low cost, will also contribute to driving innovation toward active and smart packaging. As society continues to advance, consumer expectations will increase. Active and smart packaging will likely become more common as more technologies enter the market, making active and smart packaging systems more prevalent. Ultimately, AP and IP are not merely incremental improvements but foundational shifts toward a more efficient, transparent, and resilient food system. By actively combating spoilage, extending shelf life, empowering stakeholders with data, and reducing waste, these technologies address core sustainability goals while enhancing food security. Their success, however, hinges on collaborative efforts to standardize regulations, democratize costs, innovate eco-designs, and educate consumers-transforming packaging from a silent guardian into an active participant in sustaining our global food future.

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