Sustainable Materials for Food Packaging

Dear Colleagues,

Food packaging is the largest growing industrial sector and is an integral part of food processing operations. Packaging has both technical and marketing functions. Its main role is to maintain the quality and safety of food during transportation. Preservation of food means its protection from physical, chemical, and biological hazards (oxygen, moisture, light, microbial contamination, etc.) during storage and distribution. Recently, highly engineered products, such as active and intelligent packaging, have entered the market. In addition, other packaging functions are important for a product success on the market: packaging has the duty to display, inform, sell, promote, and motivate the customers through messages and images.

Beside the primary functions of the food packaging materials, secondary issues of increasing importance are energy and material costs, recyclability, sustainability, stringent regulations on pollutants, and disposal of the packaging materials. Thus, the goal of food packaging is to maintain food safety and minimize the environmental impact of the packaging materials. Glass, metal, paper, and plastics are the four most important classes of materials employed in food packaging. To improve the barrier performances of the packaging materials, multifaceted techniques are available, such as polymer blending, multi-layered lamination, coatings, and incorporation of inorganic fillers or oxygen scavengers. However, these techniques are often not implemented, because of the complexity in manufacturing and the lack of recyclability of the finished products. The growing interest in sustainability is the driving force for the development of new packaging materials, characterized by minimum waste production, transport efficiency, and controlled after-use disposal and/or recycling.

This Special Issue aims to discuss new packaging solutions, focusing the attention on weaknesses and opportunities in view of a sustainable economic development of the packaging sector. This Special Issue will give a chance to both the academic and the industrial world to present innovative material solutions for sustainable food packaging.

Research papers, as well as reviews, are welcome.
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/WSF1/

Prof. Andrea Munari
Prof. Nadia Lotti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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