Packaging materials for non-thermal processing of food and beverages

Non-thermal processing of foods (high pressure processing, pulsed electric field, irradiation, and pulsed light) offers an alternative to conventional thermal processing to meet consumer demands for convenient, high quality, and minimally processed food products. Non-thermal processes have different mechanisms of preserving foods compared to thermal processes. Thus, the development of packaging for non-thermal processing requires understanding of packaging material properties (mechanical and barrier) and interaction between packaging materials and food components during the non-thermal processes. Packaging materials for non-thermal processes should have proper resistance to the particular non-thermal processing mechanisms. The material and design of packaging should be changed accordingly to assist preservation of food products by these non-thermal processes. This chapter provides a brief introduction to non-thermal processing of foods and beverages. Subsequent sections then cover the design of packaging materials for non-thermal processing, and discuss the likely research focus for future developments.