30) ACTIVE PACKAGING, INTELLIGENT PACKAGING（活性包装30),智能包装）.pdfVIP

30) ACTIVE PACKAGING, INTELLIGENT PACKAGING 1. Introduction Active packaging has been investigated for more than 40 years, or ever since passive packaging embracing oxygen and water vapour barriers became important to the protection of food and beverage products during distribution, that trek from the end of the production line to the consumer’s tummy. The main purpose of food packaging is to protect the food from microbial and chemical contamination, oxygen, water vapour and light. The type of packaging used therefore has an important role in determining the shelf life of a food. Active packaging does more than simply provide a barrier to outside influences. It can control, and even react to, events taking place inside the package. 2. What Can Happen Inside a Package? Fresh foods just after harvest or slaughter are still active biological systems. The atmosphere inside a package constantly changes as gases and moisture are produced during metabolic processes. The type of packaging used will also influence the atmosphere around the food because some plastics have poor barrier properties to gases and moisture. The metabolism of fresh food continues to use up oxygen in the headspace of a package and increases the carbon dioxide concentration. At the same time water is produced and the humidity in the headspace of the package builds up. This encourages the growth of spoilage micro organisms and damages the fruit and vegetable tissue. Many food plants produce ethylene as part of their normal metabolic cycle. This simple organic compound triggers ripening and aging. This explains why fruit such as bananas and avocados ripen quickly when kept in the presence of ripe or damaged fruits in a container and broccoli turn yellow even when kept in the refriger