Future perspectives towards the use of Nanomaterials for smart food packaging and quality control

Abstract

In this Progress Report some recent trends and future perspectives towards the use of nanomaterials for smart food packaging and quality control of food are given. The examples and discussion are meant to illustrate the potential use of nanotechnology for food sustainability rather than to review the state of the art of nanomaterials in this area, which although expected to have a groundbreaking impact on food sustainability is still on an early stage. Although nowadays, upon inspecting a product in the supermarket, customers look at the expiration date, in the future this might be a small and easily understood sensor integrated into the packaging foil. This would indicate the onset of decomposition or contamination by means of, for instance, a color code.