ABSTRACT
Active packaging is a system in which the food, the package, and the environment interact in a positive way to extend shelf life, improve the condition of packaged food, or to achieve food safety and maintenance of sensory properties (Realini and Marcos 2014). According to Vanderroost et al. (2014) this system could be coupled with the next generation of food packaging that will be intelligent, called “smart package” giving important information on the food condition or packaging integrity not only beneficial for the customer, but also enables the detection of calamities and possible abuse through the entire supply chain, from farm to fork. This will require the development of new technologies, e.g. printed electronic systems with integrated sensors which are connected to other, yet to be developed, devices enabling for example the release or absorption of substances or activating certain non-thermal preservation processes through different kinds of techniques, including UV irradiation, gamma irradiation, ultrasound treatment, and application of high-voltage pulsed electric fields (PEFs) (Ortega-Rivas 2012).
