Nanotechnology-Enhanced Food Packaging

Towards more sustainable packaging with biodegradable materials!

The combination of the continuously increasing food packaging waste with the non-biodegradable nature of the plastic materials that have a big slice of the packaging market makes it necessary to move towards sustainable packaging for the benefit of the environment and human health. Sustainable packaging is the type of packaging that can provide to food the necessary protection conditions, but at the same type is biodegradable and can be disposed as organic waste to the landfills in order to biodegrade through a natural procedure. In this way, sustainable packaging becomes part of the circular economy.

?Sustainable Food Packaging Technology? deals with packaging solutions that use engineered biopolymers or biocomposites that have suitable physicochemical properties for food contact and protection and originate both from renewable or non-renewable resources, but in both cases are compostable or edible. Modified paper and cardboard with increased protective properties towards food while keeping their compostability are presented as well. The book also covers natural components that can make the packaging functional, e.g., by providing active protection to the food indicating food spoilage.

* Addresses urgent problems: food packaging creates a lot of hard-to-recycle waste – this book puts forward more sustainable solutions using biodegradable materials
* State-of-the-art: ?Sustainable Food Packaging Technology? provides knowledge on new developments in functional packaging
* From lab to large-scale applications: expert authors report on the technology aspects of sustainable packaging

Providing an overview of nanotechnology in the context of agriculture and food science, this monograph covers topics such as nano-applications in teh agri-food sector, as well as the social and ethical implications. Following a review of the basics, the book goes on to take an in-depth look at processing and engineering, encapsulation and delivery, packaging, crop protection and disease. It highlights the technical, regulatory, and safety aspects of nanotechnology in food science and agriculture, while also considering the environmental impact. A valuable and accessible guide for professionals, novices, and students alike.

The book is intended as an overview on the recent and more relevant developments in the application of composite materials for food packaging applications, emphasizing the scientific outcome arising from the physico-chemical properties of such engineered materials with the needs of food quality and safety. Consumers are increasingly conscious of the strong relationship between food quality and health, and thus the request of packaging materials allowing the quality and safety of foods to be highly preserved. As a result, scientists from both academia and industry work to increase the quality of the food storage, with this book meant as a link between scientific and industrial research, showing how the development in composite materials can impact the field. In the book, the inorganic materials employed for the preparation of composite material is extensively analyzed in terms of physico-chemical properties, environmental and reusability concerns, as well as food interaction features, highlighting the importance and the potential limitations of each approach.

A comprehensive overview of the current state of this highly relevant topic. An interdisciplinary team of researchers reports on the opportunities and challenges of nanotechnology in the agriculture and food sector, highlighting the scientific, technical, regulatory, safety, and societal impacts. They also discuss the perspectives for the future, and provide insights into ways of assuring safety so as to obtain confidence for the consumer, as well as an overview of the innovations and applications. Essential reading for materials and agricultural scientists, food chemists and technologists, as well as toxicologists and ecotoxicologists.

A comprehensive review of the many new developments in the growing food processing and packaging field Revised and updated for the first time in a decade, this book discusses packaging implications for recent nonthermal processing technologies and mild food preservation such as high pressure processing, irradiation, pulsed electric fields, microwave sterilization, and other hurdle technologies. It reviews typical nonthermal processes, the characteristics of food products after nonthermal treatments, and packaging parameters to preserve the quality and enhance the safety of the products. In addition, the critical role played by packaging materials during the development of a new nonthermal processed product, and how the package is used to make the product attractive to consumers, is discussed. Packaging for Nonthermal Processing of Food, Second Edition provides up to date assessments of consumer attitudes to nonthermal processes and novel packaging (both in the U.S. and Europe). It offers a brand new chapter covering smart packaging, including thermal, microbial, chemical, and light sensing biosensors, radio frequency identification systems, and self-heating and cooling packaging. There is also a new chapter providing an overview of packaging laws and regulations in the United States and Europe. Covers the packaging types required for all major nonthermal technologies, including high pressure processing, pulsed electric field, irradiation, ohmic heating, and others Features a brand new chapter on smart packaging, including biosensors (thermal-, microbial-, chemical- and light-sensing), radio frequency identification systems, and self-heating and cooling packaging Additional chapters look at the current regulatory scene in the U.S. and Europe, as well as consumer attitudes to these novel technologies Editors and contributors bring a valuable mix of industry and research experience Packaging for Nonthermal Processing of Food, Second Edition offers many benefits to the food industry by providing practical information on the relationship between new processes and packaging materials, to academia as a source of fundamental knowledge about packaging science, and to regulatory agencies as an avenue for acquiring a deeper understanding of the packaging requirements for new processes.

A number of novel thermal and nonthermal processing methods are in active research and development in industry, academic and government laboratories. A key step that needs to be addressed is how to best package commodities processed by high pressure, pulsed electric fields, UV, irradiation, microwave or radio frequency heating, bioactive coating/packaging, or the treatment with probiotics to best preserve the benefits of improved product quality imparted by these emerging preservation technologies. Packaging for Nonthermal Processing of Food reviews typical nonthermal processes, the characteristics of food products after nonthermal treatments, and packaging parameters to preserve the quality and enhance the food safety of the products. In addition, the critical role of information carried by packaging materials to make a new product produced by a novel process attractive to consumers is discussed. Packaging for Nonthermal Processing of Food offers many benefits to industry for providing the practical information on the relationship between new processes and packaging materials, to academia for constructing the fundamental knowledge, and to regulatory agencies for acquiring deeper understanding on the packaging requirements for new processes.

Food nanotechnology is an expanding field. This expansion is based on the advent of new technologies for nanostructure characterization, visualization, and construction. Nanotechnology Research Methods for Food and Bioproducts introduces the reader to a selection of the most widely used techniques in food and bioproducts nanotechnology. This book focuses on state-of-the-art equipment and contains a description of the essential tool kit of a nanotechnologist. Targeted at researchers and product development teams, this book serves as a quick reference and a guide in the selection of nanotechnology experimental research tools.

Providing a truly global overview of legislation in all major countries, this practical volume contains the information vital for manufactures of food contact materials and food producers, facilitating a comparison of the requirements and making mutual requirements easier to identify. It covers not only plastics but also other food contact materials, such as paper, board, coatings, ceramics, cork, rubber, and textiles.

The rapid growth of miniaturisation to meet the demand for increasingly smart devices is driving global investment in a wide range of industries such as IT, electronics, energy, biotechnology and materials science. Nanotechnology: Global Strategies, Industry Trends and Applications, written by experts from Asia, Europe and the USA, gives a comprehensive and important global perspective on nanotechnology. The book is divided into 3 parts: National Nanotechnology Initiatives in Asia, Europe and the USAexplores the current status of nanotechnology in China, Korea, Europe and the USA. Investing in Nanotechnology provides practical information about the opportunities and risks involved in nanotechnology and predictions for future growth. Frontiers of Nanotechnology discusses future applications of the technology and the real-world issues surrounding these. Outlining developing trends, emerging opportunities, associated risks and future applications, this book is essential reading for professionals, prospective investors and policy makers who need an accessible introduction to the topic.