ABSTRACT
212The design and development of food packages requires a deep knowledge of the inherent properties of packaging materials together with the understanding of the kinetics possibly leading to the quality decay of food matrices. The food-packaging interactions thus rise as an aspect of primary relevance to convey to the consumers safe, convenient, high quality, and minimally processed foods. The packaging materials have therefore, to be properly selected with the goal of assisting the preservation of food products, for example, by reducing the respiration rates, controlling the moisture uptake/ loss, or preventing mechanical damages. At the same time, the presentation of the packaged food product must be kept in mind as it can influence the final choice made by consumers. The goal of this chapter is to provide an introduction to the basic physicochemical properties of packaging materials intended for food products. Mechanical barrier, optical, and surface properties will be first discussed. The last part of the chapter is devoted to a special property of plastic films specifically intended for minimally processed fruits and vegetables, tha t is, the anti-fog property, which is emerging as a sought- after feature especially from an aesthetic point of view. Both common strategies and recent advances will be reviewed.
