Food Freshness and 'Smart' Packaging

AbstractThe changes in physical environmental parameters have severe impacts on food safety and security. Therefore, it is important to understand micro-level physical parameter changes occurring inside food packages to ensure food safety and security. The emergence of smart packaging has helped to track and inform the specific changes such as a change in humidity, temperature, and pH taken place in the microenvironment in the food package. Moreover, these key physical parameters help determine the freshness of the food as well. Radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based sensors are an emerging technology that has been used in smart packaging to detect changes in the physical stimuli in order to determine food freshness. This review looks at the key environmental factors that are responsible for food safety and food freshness, the role of smart packaging with sensors that can measure changes in physical stimuli in the microclimate and the detailed review of RFID-based sensors used in smart packaging for food-freshness applications and their existing limitations.

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Inkjet-printed O2 gas sensors in intelligent packaging

The Analyst ◽

10.1039/d1an00295c ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

M. D. Fernández-Ramos ◽

M. Pageo-Cabrera ◽

L. F. Capitán-Vallvey ◽

I. M. Pérez de Vargas-Sansalvador

Keyword(s):

Gas Sensors ◽

Colorimetric Sensor ◽

Modified Atmosphere ◽

Intelligent Packaging ◽

Smart Packaging ◽

Degradation Reactions

An inkjet printed membrane is presented as a colorimetric sensor for oxygen for use in smart packaging, in order to quickly inform the consumer about possible degradation reactions in modified atmosphere products (MAP).

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Naked-Eye Food Freshness Detection: Innovative Polymeric Optode for High-Protein Food Spoilage Monitoring

ACS Food Science & Technology ◽

10.1021/acsfoodscitech.0c00089 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa Rita Magnaghi ◽

Giancarla Alberti ◽

Chiara Milanese ◽

Paolo Quadrelli ◽

Raffaela Biesuz

Keyword(s):

High Protein ◽

Food Spoilage ◽

Protein Food ◽

Naked Eye ◽

Food Freshness

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Development of active and smart packaging films based on starch, polyvinyl alcohol and betacyanins from different plant sources

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules ◽

10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.04.152 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 183 ◽

pp. 358-368

Author(s):

Xiyu Yao ◽

Yan Qin ◽

Man Zhang ◽

Jixian Zhang ◽

Chunlu Qian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Polyvinyl Alcohol ◽

Packaging Films ◽

Smart Packaging ◽

Plant Sources

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Effect of Cellulose Nanocrystal Addition on the Physicochemical Properties of Hydroxypropyl Guar-Based Intelligent Films

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes11040242 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 242

Author(s):

Yahui Meng ◽

Yunfeng Cao ◽

Kaifeng Xiong ◽

Li Ma ◽

Wenyuan Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physicochemical Properties ◽

Composite Films ◽

Food Preservation ◽

Ph Sensing ◽

Functional Material ◽

Intelligent Packaging ◽

Application Range ◽

Color Changes ◽

Hydroxypropyl Guar ◽

Food Freshness

As an important functional material in food industry, intelligent packaging films can bring great convenience for consumers in the field of food preservation and freshness detection. Herein, we fabricated pH-sensing films employing hydroxypropyl guar (HPG), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (BmimCl), and anthocyanin (Anth). Besides, the effects of adding cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) into the composite films upon the films’ structures and physicochemical properties are elucidated. The addition of CNC promoted more compact film structures. Moreover, CNC dramatically improved several properties of the pH-sensing films, including the distinguishability of their color changes, sensitivity to pH, permeability to oxygen and water vapor, solvent resistance, durability, and low-temperature resistance. These results expand the application range of pH-sensing films containing CNC in the fields of food freshness detection and intelligent packaging.

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