Active Packaging in Food Industry

Active packaging is addition of additives which prevent deterioration or degradation of quality and increase in shelf-life of food. To extend the shelf life of food, an active packaging system uses a packaging material that interacts with the internal gas environment. Such new technologies alter the gas environment on a continuous basis by removing or adding gases to the headspace inside a package. Antimicrobial packaging plays a main role in active food packaging in order to prevent or control the microbial growth after processing of food. Primary objective of packaging is to give convenience to carry or transport and to avoid secondary contamination. In order to improve the packaging objective like maintain the quality of food from several environmental factors like moisture, humidity, oxygen, microbes, insects and intrinsic factors like relative humidity, ethylene concentration, temperature, water activity, pH and acidity, nutrient content, redox potential, antimicrobial chemicals, competitive micro flora, and homogeneity etc. the deterioration of food quality by environmental factors can be prevented by incorporation of different active components by different incorporation method, by considering the safety issue modern technology like nanotechnology. The efficacy of combining active packaging with intelligent packaging was good. Year after year, the market value of active and intelligent packaging grows. When compared to other packaging methods, active packaging has both advantages and disadvantages.