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Active packaging technologies offer new opportunities for the food industry, in the preservation of foods. Important active packaging systems currently known to date, including oxygen scavengers, carbon dioxide emitters/absorbers, moisture absorbers, ethylene absorbers, ethanol emitters, flavor releasing/absorbing systems, time-temperature indicators, and antimicrobial containing films, are reviewed. The principle of operation of each active system is briefly explained. Recent technological advances in active packaging are discussed, and food related applications are presented. The effects of active packaging systems on food quality and safety are cited.
Keywords active packaging, food packaging, food safety, food quality, shelf life
INTRODUCTION
The use of proper packaging materials and methods to minimize food losses and provide safe and wholesome food products has always been the focus of food packaging. In addition, consumer trends for better quality, fresh-like, and convenient food products have intensified during the last decade. Therefore, a variety of active packaging technologies have been developed to provide better quality, wholesome and safe foods and also to limit package related environmental pollution and disposal problems.
Active packaging is defined as an intelligent or smart system that involves interactions between package or package components and food or internal gas atmosphere and complies with consumer demands for high quality, fresh-like, and safe products.1-2 Active packaging extends the shelf life of foods, while maintaining their nutritional quality, inhibiting the growth of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms, preventing and/or indicating the migration of contaminants, and displaying any package leaks present, thus ensuring food safety.1,3 Important examples of active packaging include oxygen scavengers, carbon dioxide emitters/absorbers, moisture absorbers, ethylene absorbers, ethanol emitters, flavor releasing/absorbing systems, time-temperature indicators, and antimicrobial containing films.1"2,4"10 Some examples of currently known active packaging systems and mode of action are presented in Table 1.
ACTIVE FOOD PACKAGING SYSTEMS
Active packaging technologies hiive started to receive a great deal of attention since the last decade. The market for active packaging films today is a modest $50 million worldwide, and this market is expected to grow rapidly.
Oxygen Scavengers
High levels of oxygen present in food packages may facilitate microbial growth, off-flavors and off-odors development, color change, and nutritional losses, thereby causing significant reductions in the shelf life of foods. Therefore, the control of oxygen levels in food packages is important to limit...