The Evolution of Food Packaging, the Active Food Packaging Concept and Its Current and Future Trends

Food packaging is responsible for a multitude of benefits for food items, since the beginning of humankind. These include containment, protection, preservation, transportation, identification and convenience of food. In this chapter, the evolution of the food packaging from pre-history will be addressed as well as the latest advancements, namely regarding the introduction of the ‘active packaging’ concept. The legal frame of food contact materials, in particular of active packaging, will be discussed as well as the features concerning the migration from these specific materials. Finally, current and future trends will be exploited.