Active and Intelligent Packaging = Longer Shelf Life

The article describes how active and intelligent packaging are used to extend the shelf life of foods.

Claire Koelsch Sand

Food Technology Magazine

An oxygen-scavenging self-adhesive label developed by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences is attached to a package of meat. Photo courtesy of Zurich University of Applied Sciences

Active and intelligent packaging are two forms of smart packaging. Active packaging employs technology that intentionally releases or absorbs compounds from the food or the headspace of food packaging, which extends the shelf life of products by stalling the degradative reactions of lipid oxidation, microbial growth, and moisture loss and gain better than traditional food packaging. Intelligent packaging communicates to consumers and others throughout the value chain. The two types of smart packaging …

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Hero Image: Photo courtesy of Carlsberg Group

Authors

Claire Koelsch Sand Owner and Founder

Claire Koelsch Sand, PhD, contributing editor to Food Technology and an IFT Fellow, is a global packaging leader with more than 35 years of food science and packaging experience. Sand is the owner and founder of Packaging Technology and Research, LLC (claire@packagingtechnologyandresearch.com).