Changes in the way food products are produced, distributed, stored and retailed, reflecting the continuing increase in consumer demand for improved quality and extended shelf-life for packaged foods, are placing greater and greater demands on the performance of food packaging.
Consumers want to be assured that the packaging is fulfilling its function of protecting the quality, freshness and safety of foods. To provide this assurance and to help improve the performance of the packaging, innovative active and intelligent packaging concepts are being developed.
Active and intelligent packaging may be defined as follows:

• Active packaging : Concepts that change the condition of the packed food to extend shelf-life or to improve safety or sensory properties while maintaining the quality of the food
• Intelligent packaging Concepts that monitor to give information about the quality of the packed food.

Active packaging includes concepts that will absorb oxygen, ethylene, moisture or remove compounds that may cause taints. Other systems of active packaging release antimicrobial agents, antioxidants, flavours and/or colours. Intelligent packaging systems can monitor the condition of packed food; for example to show if there are gas leaks in modified atmosphere packs, to provide a history of the temperature a product has been exposed over time, or to indicate the presence of microbial spoilage.

Active and intelligent packaging concepts employ a wide range technologies, each selected to deal with a specific problems. In the USA, Japan and Australia, these concepts are being successfully applied to extending shelf-life and monitoring food quality and safety. In Europe, the development and application of active and intelligent packaging systems have been limited. The main reasons for this are legislative restrictions, a lack of knowledge about their acceptability to consumers, the efficacy of such concepts, and the economic and environmental impact such concepts may have.

No European regulations currently exist specifically covering the use of active and intelligent packaging. Active and intelligent packaging may be covered by existing legislation or after amendments of these legislations. The packaging regulations require compounds in contact with food to be on approved lists of compounds.In addition an overall migration limit from the material into the food is set at a maximum of 60 mg per kg of food. This may be said to be inconsistent with the objective of active packaging that releases substances in order to extend shelf-life or improve quality and will therefore require a new approach of packaging regulations.
Objective and tasks

The objective of this project is to establish and implement active and intelligent packaging concepts within the current relevant regulations for food packaging in Europe. This will enable these concepts to be developed and introduced throughout Europe, enhancing the competitiveness of the food industry, especially with the USA, Australia and Japan.
The project consists of five key tasks:

1. An in-depth review of technologies, legislation, market and consumer needs and trends in active and intelligent packaging in relation to current European food packaging regulations.
2. A study of the analytical composition and migration behaviour of selected active and intelligent concepts: this will be used to determine a classification in view of the restrictions of current legislation. Combinations of food and packaging will be selected and prepared for testing.
3. An investigation of:
   • The safety of the selected concepts through microbial safety analysis and assessment of the risks from false indications;
   • The effectiveness of the concept's sensory, microbial and chemical shelf-life extending capacity; and
   • The efficiency of the concepts as scavengers of, for example, oxygen, ethylene.
4. Examination of the toxicological properties of selected active and intelligent packaging concepts, their economic and environmental effects and the attitude of European consumers to these innovative concepts.
5. Discussion with EU and national authorities about legislative aspects of active and intelligent packaging and drafting of amendments specific to these concepts. Modification of current migration testing methods and development of procedures for systematic evaluation of the fitness for food contact of active and intelligent concepts.

• Development of amendments to current European regulations for food contact materials, based on profound European research.
• Broad European research on active and intelligent packaging undertaken by independent research organisations. Many aspects of such packaging, such as effectiveness and consumer acceptance, are included.
• Improvement in the competitiveness of the European food industry.
• Active packaging enables the shelf-life and quality of packed food to be enhanced and for packaging materials to be reduced.
• Packaging integrity and the freshness of the product may be controlled by intelligent packaging indicators. Application of non-destructive on line indicators will significantly reduce costs compared to destructive random testing of samples. Consumers will be able to use indicators to help them choose products with the best quality and shelf-life.

Mrs. M.D. van Beest, M.Sc.

TNO Nutrition and Food Research
Utrechtseweg 48
3704 HE Zeist
P.O.Box 360
3700 AJ Zeist
The Netherlands
T: +31 30 694 46 56
F: +31 30 695 72 24