A review: Breathable films for packaging applications

Various packaging technologies have been developed to meet continuously increasing consumer demand for comfortable and safe use, convenience of use, and fresh quality of packaged products. Porous and breathable films provide various advantages such as the minimization of anaerobiosis originating from the accumulation of CO2 in packaging and the automatic release of steam in a microwave system. Non-porous breathable films are among the alternative candidates for packaging applications and they can respond to desired and undesired temperature fluctuations by reversibly changing the gas permeability depending on the temperature change. They can also prevent problems related to packaging integrity such as the intrusion of insects and microorganisms through perforations, undesired permeation of moisture, and loss of flavor in agricultural products and food. This review mainly addresses porous and non-porous breathable films that are responsive to stimuli like temperature changes. Further, the importance and possible packaging application areas of non-porous breathable films with temperature-dependent gas permeabilities are briefly identified.