Nanostructured smart packaging: Bridging active functionality with intelligent sensing

The swift progress of nanotechnology has created opportunities for innovative sensing and food packaging solutions, tackling enduring issues in the food industry. These advancements aim to extend shelf life, minimize waste, evaluate safety, and enhance food quality. Nanomaterials serve as ways to enhance properties such as strength, thermal stability, elasticity, moisture barrier, and water sensitivity. They will also be used for antimicrobial activities, oxygen scavenging, ethylene absorption, carbon dioxide absorption/emitters, flavor releasing or absorbing, antioxidant functions, and moisture control. Additionally, they can be used in chemical and bio-sensing devices to create quick and sensitive tools for measuring freshness and identifying allergens, harmful substances, or microbial contaminants. Besides, safety considerations include evaluating current legislation, assessing methods for risks related to the release of particles from packaging film, and assessing how human cells and gut microbiota are affected by metal oxide nanoparticles through cytotoxicity research. This review underscores the dual role of bionanocomposites in food packaging, enhancing product safety and shelf life through active functionalities and providing critical quality information via intelligent systems. Simultaneously, it emphasizes the necessity of extensive toxicological research to safeguard human health, paving the way for the responsible and sustainable implementation of nanotechnology in food packaging. This review seeks to provide a fundamental overview of nanotechnology applications in the food packaging sectors, aiming to recognize both opportunities and possible risks related to nanomaterials.