Novel Functional Coatings for Food Packaging: Recent Advances and Future Challenges
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Packaging and Preservation".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2026 | Viewed by 20
Special Issue Editors
Interests: food packaging; biodegradable packaging; active and intelligent packaging; antimicrobial packaging; quality and shelf life modelling; food microbiology; meat technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: food engineering; food packaging; biodegradable packaging; active and intelligent packaging; nonthermal processing; shelf life modellingmodeling; seafood technology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue, "Novel Functional Coatings for Food Packaging: Recent Advances and Future Challenges", will focus on recent innovations and future directions in the field of functional coatings for food packaging. Our aim is to showcase advanced materials and technologies that will improve the performance of packaging systems in terms of food preservation, safety, functionality, and environmental compatibility.
We invite contributions that explore new formulations and applications of functional coatings, with our particular interest being materials that respond to current demands for sustainability and smart packaging. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Coatings derived from renewable, bio-based, or biodegradable resources;
- Systems with antimicrobial, antifungal, or antioxidant activity;
- Smart or responsive coatings with sensing or monitoring capabilities;
- Enhancements in barrier performance against gases, moisture, or light;
- Nanostructured or hybrid coating materials for multifunctional applications;
- Innovations supporting recyclability, compostability, or regulatory compliance.
By bringing together a wide range of research and perspectives from both academia and industry, this Special Issue aims to provide a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue. It also seeks to outline the key scientific challenges and opportunities around translating laboratory advances into scalable, real-world packaging solutions.
We aim to highlight both fundamental research and practical applications, as well as identify existing gaps and future challenges in the field. Contributions from academia and industry are equally encouraged to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation in sustainable food packaging technologies.
Dr. Athina Ntzimani
Dr. Theofania Tsironi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- functional coatings
- bio-based materials
- sustainable packaging
- intelligent packaging
- barrier properties
- edible coatings
- antimicrobial/antioxidant coatings
- shelf-life extension
- environmental impact
- circular economy in packaging
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