Nanotechnology: The Food-Packaging Resource for the Modern Consumer

Getting our food from farm to table is sometimes a long, complicated journey – traveling through multiple climates and changing hands many times before the food even arrives at the supermarket. Consumers today demand fresh, natural, ready-to-eat foods and producers are constantly searching for a way to deliver quality foods which meet their customers' expectations, while simultaneously finding ways to keep processing and handling costs low. Advances in material science, including nanotechnologies, are offering enhanced food packaging solutions.   

Recent reviews by Mihindukulasuriya (2017) and Sharma (2017), highlight some of the recent developments in food packaging made with nanoscale materials and technologies. Their discussion covers uses of nanotechnologies in existing packaging systems, and how it can be used in active and intelligent packaging. This includes the use of nanocomposites with improved mechanical and barrier properties, designing active packaging with antimicrobial or oxygen scavenging capability, or packaging with nanosensors that can be used to communicate to consumers the safety and nutritional status of packaged food. These advances are coming from materials as diverse as cellulose nanomaterials through to silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles.