7
materials a very attractive alternative. Another advantage is the intrinsic versatility
of plastics to make tailored packaging. These materials have the capability to be
thermoformed or molded, allowing the integration of packaging building, loading
and closing in the same production line. However, a disadvantage related to the
application of plastics in packaging, mainly for food, is its relatively low barrier
property (light and gas permeability). Despite the wide variety of plastics, none of
them is totally impermeable to water vapor and gases, simultaneously.
Changes in people’s lifestyles have greatly influenced the production and consumption of packaging, thus fostering new challenges related to materials and
design. In recent years, there has been a growing trend of consumers related to free
preservative, fresh, natural, nutritious and safe foods, as well as minimally processed foods or without processing. In this way, in recent decades, a notable increase
has been observed in the consumption of fresh and fresh-cut products, such as exotic
fruit mixtures, fresh herbs, leafy vegetables (in consumer-size package) and sprouted
seeds (Oliveira et al. 2015). It is important to note that these fresh products present
the best possible quality at the harvest and, although it cannot be further improved,
it can be conserved to a reasonable degree during postharvest. However, extending
the shelf life of fresh products is a major challenge for food processors, since fruits
and vegetables are biologically active for a considerable long time after harvest, as
a consequence of metabolic activity (e.g. respiration) and external adverse factors
(loss of water, physical injuries, presence of microbial flora and variable storage
temperature). Therefore, the development of food packaging, allowing prolonging
the shelf life of fresh products is required. In this context, the passive character of
conventional packaging, acting only as a physical barrier between food and surroundings, must be modified in terms of food quality preservation. As a solution to
this challenge, packaging functionality must be redefined and improved with respect
to the passive packaging, in order to offer differential results in food preservation.
Consequently, diverse technologies have emerged such as modified atmosphere
packaging (MAP) (Oliveira et al. 2015; Zhang et al. 2015; Belay et al. 2016), active
packaging (AP) (Lee et al. 2015; Barska and Wyrwa 2017; Kumar et al. 2018;
Yildirim et al. 2018), and intelligent packaging (IP) (Biji et al. 2015; Ghaani et al.
2016; Poyatos-Racionero et al. 2018). MAP allows prolonging the shelf life of fresh
and minimally processed foods by removing and/or modifying the head-space
atmosphere surrounding the products. The role of AP is to improve the stability and/
or quality of the packaged products by releasing or retaining substances whose
absence or presence determines the extension of shelf life, while IP involves systems that monitor the state of packaged foods, thus providing information about
food quality during transport and storage. Among these alternatives, AP for food
applications has received great interest because of high requirements of consumer
convenience, environmental aspects, price, safety and shelf-life extension (Pacholi
et al. 2017). In this sense, the incorporation of chemical, microbiological and/or
physical protection to the packaging is a real need (Gutiérrez et al. 2017).
The aim of this chapter is to analyze different approaches for the development of
active films by including antibacterial, antifungal and/or repellent capabilities. Most
of the sustainable commercial developments of this type of film are based on com2 Active Packaging Films Based on Polyolefins Modified by Organic and Inorganic…
materials a very attractive alternative. Another advantage is the intrinsic versatility
of plastics to make tailored packaging. These materials have the capability to be
thermoformed or molded, allowing the integration of packaging building, loading
and closing in the same production line. However, a disadvantage related to the
application of plastics in packaging, mainly for food, is its relatively low barrier
property (light and gas permeability). Despite the wide variety of plastics, none of
them is totally impermeable to water vapor and gases, simultaneously.
Changes in people’s lifestyles have greatly influenced the production and consumption of packaging, thus fostering new challenges related to materials and
design. In recent years, there has been a growing trend of consumers related to free
preservative, fresh, natural, nutritious and safe foods, as well as minimally processed foods or without processing. In this way, in recent decades, a notable increase
has been observed in the consumption of fresh and fresh-cut products, such as exotic
fruit mixtures, fresh herbs, leafy vegetables (in consumer-size package) and sprouted
seeds (Oliveira et al. 2015). It is important to note that these fresh products present
the best possible quality at the harvest and, although it cannot be further improved,
it can be conserved to a reasonable degree during postharvest. However, extending
the shelf life of fresh products is a major challenge for food processors, since fruits
and vegetables are biologically active for a considerable long time after harvest, as
a consequence of metabolic activity (e.g. respiration) and external adverse factors
(loss of water, physical injuries, presence of microbial flora and variable storage
temperature). Therefore, the development of food packaging, allowing prolonging
the shelf life of fresh products is required. In this context, the passive character of
conventional packaging, acting only as a physical barrier between food and surroundings, must be modified in terms of food quality preservation. As a solution to
this challenge, packaging functionality must be redefined and improved with respect
to the passive packaging, in order to offer differential results in food preservation.
Consequently, diverse technologies have emerged such as modified atmosphere
packaging (MAP) (Oliveira et al. 2015; Zhang et al. 2015; Belay et al. 2016), active
packaging (AP) (Lee et al. 2015; Barska and Wyrwa 2017; Kumar et al. 2018;
Yildirim et al. 2018), and intelligent packaging (IP) (Biji et al. 2015; Ghaani et al.
2016; Poyatos-Racionero et al. 2018). MAP allows prolonging the shelf life of fresh
and minimally processed foods by removing and/or modifying the head-space
atmosphere surrounding the products. The role of AP is to improve the stability and/
or quality of the packaged products by releasing or retaining substances whose
absence or presence determines the extension of shelf life, while IP involves systems that monitor the state of packaged foods, thus providing information about
food quality during transport and storage. Among these alternatives, AP for food
applications has received great interest because of high requirements of consumer
convenience, environmental aspects, price, safety and shelf-life extension (Pacholi
et al. 2017). In this sense, the incorporation of chemical, microbiological and/or
physical protection to the packaging is a real need (Gutiérrez et al. 2017).
The aim of this chapter is to analyze different approaches for the development of
active films by including antibacterial, antifungal and/or repellent capabilities. Most
of the sustainable commercial developments of this type of film are based on com2 Active Packaging Films Based on Polyolefins Modified by Organic and Inorganic…