ACTIVE PACKAGING | TECHNOLOGY
Active and intelligent – or smart – packaging is a growing sector of the plastics market. Mark Holmes reviews the latest developments and some recycling-friendly solutions
Smart options for packaging
The presence of oxygen in packaged foods and pharmaceuticals has long presented a problem of preservation and diminished shelf life for packag- ing producers. Now additives, masterbatches and compounding systems are being developed to create active – sometimes referred to as intelligent – packaging solutions that can dramatically prolong the shelf life of a product, and in some cases also convey vital information to the consumer about the freshness of the packaged material. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute IVV has been involved in a number active and intelligent packag- ing projects. The market and interest in it is growing, according to Sven Sängerlaub, Business Develop- ment Manager, Packaging at the institute. He says the technologies are increasingly being used in the pharmaceutical sector. Interest is also growing in the food sector, although adoption is being held back by a lack of transferrable experience. “For both active and intelligent packaging, tailor- made solutions and often case studies and packag-
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ing trials are missing, which are essential for food producers to convince them to use such materials,” he says. “Nevertheless, there are a number of trends that will continue to drive new develop- ments in active and intelligent packaging. These include the increasing use of permeable polymers, instead of glass and metal, and more use of certain sensitive food components, such as rape seed oil instead of palm oil. The need for clean labelling, high food quality and safer food are also key factors in the development of new packaging solutions.” There is also a need for more work to under- stand the technical and regulatory issues. “Techni- cal issues currently being worked on include migration control. It is often not easy to say how packaging should be designed to be approved by authorities such as EFSA and FDA, so we are developing modelling techniques to assist with this. Regulation of relative humidity and carbon dioxide release are other important areas under
Main image: Developments in active packaging
technology can extend shelf life and improve recyclability
October 2017 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 69
PHOTO: FRAUNHOFER IVV
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