Logo do repositório
 
Logótipo do projeto
Projeto de investigação

LiveWell

Apenas metadados

Financiador

Organização

Autores

Publicações

A Critical Review of Emerging Solutions for Food Packaging: Opportunities and Challenges
Publication . Martins, Joana; Garcia, Juliana; Guimarães, Rafaela; Gouvinhas, Irene; Alves, Maria José; Saavedra, Maria José
The environmental impact of conventional plastics has driven a shift toward biobased food packaging, shaped by consumer expectations, market trends, and regulatory policies within the European Union (EU). Despite extensive research on biopolymers such as starch, cellulose, chitosan, and polylactic acid (PLA), their use in commercial food packaging remains limited. A major challenge identified in the literature is the evaluation of biopolymer performance, in which environmental benefits are often considered independently of mechanical, barrier, and economic factors. This review addresses this gap by critically exploring the functional performance of biopolymers regarding their chemical structure and processing methods, with particular emphasis on the role of bioactive compounds in enhancing these materials’ properties. Although several biopolymers can achieve tensile strength values comparable to conventional petroleum-based plastics, their higher water vapor transmission rates remain an unsolved barrier to scalability. These limitations, together with challenges related to mechanical performance and production costs, are discussed to clarify their impact on industrial feasibility and to identify priorities for future research supporting scalable, cost-effective, and regulatory-compliant food packaging solutions.
2026Artigo científico Acesso aberto Ver mais

Unidades organizacionais

Descrição

LiveWell aspires to be a regional based and global focused R&D unit that pioneers innovative research in active living, contributing for the development of evidence-based strategies empowering one´s sports engagement, healthy lifestyles, health promotion, disease prevention, and maximizing wellbeing.

Palavras-chave

Contribuidores

Financiadores

Entidade financiadora

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Programa de financiamento

Número da atribuição

ID