Technology in Intelligent Food Packaging : A review

Abstract

Food packaging innovation efforts have gradually moved toward the creation of intelligent packaging since the turn of the millennium. With the use of a range of signals, intelligent food packaging typically keeps an eye on the condition of the food, its surroundings, and their interactions. This allows consumers to be informed about the safety and/or quality of the food they are purchasing. Without intervening directly, intelligent packaging recognizes and conveys information about the state of the product. It is capable of sensing a feature of the product and informing users about it, as well as initiating active packaging operations. They are made up of sensors and indicators, which use receptors, transducers, and electronics for signal processing to detect specific analyses and inform about specific properties related to food quality through direct visual changes. Data carriers are a third kind of intelligent packaging that are usually used to follow the flow of food through the food supply chain rather than to provide information about the quality of the food. Data carriers, such as barcodes and radiofrequency identification tags (RFID), are primarily designed to facilitate automation, traceability, theft prevention, and counterfeit protection; they are not typically used to gather data on the quality status of food. Instead, they are meant to assist in tracking the movement of food products along the food supply chain. The fundamental workings of intelligent food packaging systems and their primary uses—with a special emphasis on those related to food quality monitoring—are covered in this review paper.