ABSTRACT
The formats of active, intelligent and smart packaging have gone beyond the traditional functions of food packaging, with the goal of having the product and its immediate environment react to provide increased information, safety, shelf-life and overall quality to the consumer. Seaweeds’ bioactive compounds have a long history of application in the food industry alone. The effect of oxygen in the preservation and storage of foodstuffs is a well-known obstacle and one of the main limitations of both the short shelf-life of perishable products and long-lasting, highly stable ones. The authorization process for new active and intelligent materials is the responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority. A lot of the potential of seaweed bioactives are yet to be properly exploited by most industries, including the major producers of food packaging. Active packaging technologies are classified according to their underlying mechanisms and their prevalence is dependent on the industrial sector where they are applied.
