INTELLIGENT PACKAGING- FINAL PORTION

GLOBAL MARKET OF INTELLIGENT PACKAGING

       

        Intelligent packaging materials and articles were firstly introduced in the market of Japan in the mid 70s, but only in the mid 90s they raised the attention of the industry in Europe and in the USA. In this period, there was a proliferation of patents and market tests that created great expectations of commercial growth.  The market growth looks promising and the overall market value for 2017 is projected to be nearly $44.3 billion after increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8%. In 2010, the active and intelligent packaging technology held the highest growth rate, estimated at a CAGR of 10.5% and 12.1% respectively from 2010 to 2015. Modified atmosphere technology accounted for largest share (approximately 54%) of the total market in advanced packaging technology. The global advanced packaging technology is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2010 to 2015.

        The intelligent packaging sales were nearly $3.8 billion in 2011 and could approach $5.3 billion in 2017 with a CAGR 5.6%. Consumer packaging is a vital component of contemporary living today, with food and beverage packaging making up the largest segment. Key mega trends, such as upgraded standard of living and demand for safety, convenience, health, well-being, and sustainability are creating long-term shifts affecting consumers' lives, eating habits, and purchasing behaviors across many different markets, regions and demographics. These shifts, which started a decade or so ago, have forced a constant change of behavior in their manifestation. Globalization has had a tremendous effect as well on the regional markets; however, trends are to some extent also influenced by regional cultures, depending on the progress of the market in question. 

        The intelligent packaging market across all regions - North America, Europe, and emerging markets - increased substantially from 2010 to 2012 and is expected to sustain this growth for the next four to five years. A number of portentous activities, such as collaborative efforts and new product development in the Asia-Pacific region as well as in the European and North American markets, were witnessed. Out of the total market for the global advanced packaging, the contribution of food sector is 51%, while that of beverage is 19%. Active packaging is mainly used for food packaging, which enhances the food quality with flavor, taste, color. Intelligent packaging is used for both - food and beverage packaging

        The major players in advanced packaging technology market are Multisorb Technologies (U.S.), Sealed Air Corporation (U.S.), Ball Corporation (U.S.); Amcor limited (Australia), Timestrip PLC (U.K.), Sysco Corporation (U.S.), Paksense Incorporated (U.S.), Eastman Chemical Company, and M&G USA Corporation. These players have launched new products in active and intelligent packaging technology as a part of their major strategy.

Consumer issues

      There is a lot of interest in intelligent techniques in the food industry. One of the main factors restricting their use is possibly the manufacturers’ fear of a negative attitude of consumers towards the separate objects in the headspace of food packages. On the other hand, indicator structures are under development and labels and laminated structures would probably be more easily accepted by the consumer.

        Before the food industry can make decisions on the best available active and/ or smart packaging technique, research studies are needed both in domestic and foreign markets to evaluate consumer attitudes and behavior towards these techniques. Even the naming of the different ‘indicators’ in food packages may not sound too familiar to consumers and therefore more common names may be needed. The food industry must be aware of all the consumers’ prejudices and fears, as well as expectations and the marketing requirements in order to confirm the successful introduction of new products. One key element is that consumers understand the quality improvement and/or assurance function of active absorbers/emitters and/or colour indicators and also the importance of using them. Consumers must have confidence in the safety of the food they buy (Hurme and Ahvenainen, 1996).

        Even though technological development of smart packaging techniques has been and still is very intensive, the methods have not been regulated in national and international legislation. So, no specific regulations exist on testing their suitability in the direct contact of foods. In practice, this means that, more or less, legislation concerning traditional packaging materials has been applied to these new packaging techniques. On the other hand, combined materials/multistructures into which many active and smart packaging devices can be classified seems to continue to present difficulties from a regulatory point of view, especially as they are not easily tested using protocols intended for pure plastics.

APPLICATIONS OF INTELLIGENT PACKAGING

§  Tamper evidence

Breach of pack containment

§  Quality and safety indicators

Time-temperature indicators (TTIs)

Microbial growth

Gas sensing devices

Pathogen detection

§  Traceability devices 

Radio frequency identification (RFID) chips/tags 

§  Product authenticity

Hidden design print elements-RFID

Holographic images, logos

CONCLUSION

        Food packaging is an important part of food production. The three basic functions of food packaging is storage, preservation and protection and for better maintenance of quality and handling of foods (Galić et al., 2011). The evolution and development of new type of foodstuffs, packaging industry must found new possibilities for provision food quality and safety for long time during shelf-life of food. Modern food packaging technologies include modified atmosphere packaging, active packaging and smart packaging, the main purpose of which is to enhance food safety and quality in as natural a way as possible (Hotchkiss, 1995). Intelligent Packaging”, as it is known, has been gaining in popularity over the last few years. Intelligent packaging is in an early stage of development technology that uses the communication function of the package to facilitate decision making to achieve the benefits of enhanced food safety and quality. The advancement in this technology will require researchers to continue think outside the box and use nontraditional packaging approaches to meet new challenges. As this technology is unfolding, issues such as those relating to legislation, consumer acceptance   and economics also need to be addressed.

REFERENCES

·      AHVENAINEN, R., 2003: Novel Food Packaging Techniques. Cambridge UK: Wood head Publishing, 400 p. ISBN 978-1-85573-675-7.

·      COLES, R., MCDOWELL, D. and KIRWAN, M. J., 2003: Food Packaging Technology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 346 p. ISBN 978- 0849397882.

·      C. Suzuki, J. Chem. Ed. 68, 588–589 (1991).

·      FQSI International, FreshQt smart sensor label web information. Available at http://www.fqsinternational.com/products.htm. Accessed March 2008.

·      International published Patent WO 2006/032025 A1, J. R. Williams, K. E. Myers, M. M. Owens, and M. A. Bonne (to Food Quality Sensor International, Inc.).

·      R. Want, ‘‘Enabling Ubiquitous Sensing with RFID,’’ Computer 37, 84–86 (2004).

·      S. Nambi, S. Nyalamadugu, S. M.Wentworth, and B. A. Chin, ‘‘Radio Frequency Identification Sensors,’’ 7th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics, Dubna, Russia, July 30–August 2, 2003.

·      SUMMERS, L., 1992: Intelligent packaging for quality. So_ Drinks Management International, Vol. 36, p. 32–33. ISSN 0953–4776.

·      RODRIGUES, E. T. and HAN, J. H., 2003: Intelligent packaging. In: Heldman, D. R. and Moraru, C. I. (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Agricultural, Food and Biological  Engineering. 2nd edition, New York: Marcel Dekker, pp. 528–535. ISBN 978-1439811115

·      HAN, J. H., HO, C. H. L. and RODRIGUE, E. T., 2005: Intelligent packaging. In: Han, J. H. Innovation in food packaging. UK, London: Elsevier Academic  Press, p. 138–155. ISBN 978-0123116321.

·      Gontard, N. Active packaging for food processing and preservation. In: International Congress on Engineering and Food: ICEF 9, 7e11 March 2004, Montpellier, France.

The section completed.