Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100

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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ifset

Packaging concepts for fresh and processed meat – Recent progresses T

a a,b,⁎
Benjamin Schumann , Markus Schmid
a
Technical University of Munich, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Chair of Food Packaging Technology, Weihenstephaner Steig 22, Freising 85354, Germany
b
Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Straße 35, 85354 Freising, Germany

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Modern societal, economic, nutritional and ecological changes warrant the continued evolution of packaging
Meat packaging solutions in order to meet new requirements. This review examines current advances in the development of
Sustainable packaging novel packaging related technologies, methods and materials for fresh and processed meat. The current focus of
Active & intelligent packaging research has been found to concentrate on the development of sustainably producible packaging materials as
Quality
well as increased functionality of packaging systems in general. Active & intelligent packaging solutions are
Shelf life
showing great promise for the improvement of packaging functionality and will enable extended shelf life,
Biodegradable
higher quality and greater safety of packed meat. Novel approaches in this field are increasingly examining the
use of natural functional additives and combination methods. Although often held back by legal restrictions, low
retail or consumer acceptance and sometimes incomplete development, intelligent packaging systems are still
being devised and show good potential for augmenting the present methods for maintaining the safety of packed
meat. The overall goals of current research are to enhance the safety and quality of packed meat while reducing
costs and negative environmental impacts by utilizing natural materials and synergy effects. Good efforts are
being made with regard to these objectives although many promising concepts still require some additional
refining for commercialization.

1. Introduction highest waste percentages for meat. Inappropriate packaging is re-

The global food market has always been changing and adapting
according to economic and social developments. The past century has
seen rapid growth in terms of both the world's population and overall
economic prosperity. The consequent trend in the food sector has
consistently been one towards supermarkets as the dominant retail
format and increasingly packaging dependent solutions as a result of
the growing prevalence of packaged foods (Popkin, Adair, & Ng, 2012).
Within this category of the food market, fresh and processed packed
meat is a particularly relevant and interesting segment worth ex-
amining. In order to design suitable packaging materials and processes
for meat products, many different factors have to be taken into account.
The technology behind meat packaging has an effect not only on the
safety of the product but also on its shelf life. The latter is particularly
relevant today as globally approximately one third of food produced for
human consumption, equating to around 1.3 billion tons, is lost an-
nually with close to 50% of waste in western developed countries taking
place in households (FAO, 2011). Table 1 shows the waste percentages
for different commodities including meat in each step of the food supply
chain. The significance of the packaging process but especially the
treatment of the product by the consumer is highlighted by the two
sponsible for a high degree of waste, especially in developing countries
where suitable technologies and materials are often scarce, which
commonly exacerbates food shortages (Quested, Parry, Easteal, &
Swannell, 2011).
As overall meat consumption is steadily rising globally and the
production of meat requires huge inputs in the form of energy and re-
sources such as clean water and feed and is responsible for substantial
emissions, a reduction of waste through technological solutions is
highly desirable (Henchion, McCarthy, Resconi, & Troy, 2014;
Thornton, 2010). This means that the optimization of meat packing
materials and processes is highly relevant not only for health reasons
but also to ensure greater sustainability of modern day agriculture and
to make more food available to a growing population. Growing meat
consumption, together with an increasing proportion of meat being sold
in a packed form means that significant growth potential is present in
the associated packaging industry, with lucrative expansion relying
heavily on quality and innovation. Besides these global factors affecting
sustainability, major driving forces for innovation consist of the de-
mand of consumers for higher quality and the desire of producing
companies to reduce the costs associated with the packaging itself as
well as those resulting from spoilage or expiration. In developed

⁎
Corresponding author at: Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Straße 35, 85354 Freising, Germany.
E-mail addresses: ben.schumann@gmx.net (B. Schumann), markus.schmid@ivv.fraunhofer.de (M. Schmid).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifset.2018.02.005
Received 13 July 2017; Received in revised form 30 November 2017; Accepted 5 February 2018
Available online 10 February 2018
1466-8564/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
Table 1
Estimated/assumed waste percentages for each commodity group in each step of the food supply chain for Europe including Russia.
(Adapted from FAO (2011).)
Agricultural production Postharvest Handling & storage
Cereals 2% 4%
Roots and tubers 20% 9%
Oil seeds and pulses 10% 1%
Fruits and vegetables 20% 5%
Meat 3.1% 0.7%
Fish and seafood 9.4% 0.5%
Milk 3.5% 0.5%
countries, the state of the art packaging technologies for meat is already
capable of ensuring relatively high standards concerning food safety
and shelf life. Technologies such as modified atmosphere packaging
(MAP), vacuum packing and the use of conventional preservatives are
well established and capable of effectively improving the quality and
shelf life of packaged meat compared to previously employed methods
(Joseph P Kerry, 2012). However, because of a shift in consumer
awareness concerning food in general and a resulting demand for more
natural and sustainable products, novel approaches are constantly
being developed in order either to improve upon conventional methods
or augment the range of techniques currently available for the packa-
ging of fresh and processed meat. Modern day consumers in developed
countries are demanding sustainably produced, convenient food pro-
ducts of superior quality, high nutritional and functional value as well
as extended shelf life while opposing the use of additional processing
and the use of additives (Nychas, Skandamis, Tassou, & Koutsoumanis,
2008). This means that in order to be successful in this increasingly
demanding market, companies must strive to fulfill as many of these
requirements as possible. Thus, innovations in this field have the po-
tential to benefit the consumer by supplying a superior product, the
company by economizing on packaging costs and adding value to the
product as well as improving sustainability. This paper offers a com-
prehensive review of the most recent developments in the field of meat
packaging and critically appraises their merit and promise for future
application in the industry. Emphasis is placed on the newest and most
relevant developments in sustainable and natural packaging materials,
active as well as intelligent packaging, thereby excluding many rela-
tively established technologies such as conventional synthetic oxygen
scavengers and approaches with insufficient research or practicality,
such as corrective responsive packaging. Some of the latter may become
more relevant in the future, but in order to avoid mere conjecture at
this time the focus remains on recent, yet well documented progresses.
Many of these examined concepts, especially in the category of active
packaging, show excellent potential for pushing the meat packaging
industry towards a safer, more natural and sustainable future.
2. Modern challenges and objectives for meat packaging
When examining the current challenges of fresh and processed meat
packaging, one faces a multitude of very diverse issues, many of which
are not new but have caused concern for some time. Traditional, usually
more technical problems have long been targets for packaging solutions
and have varied greatly depending on the type of product (Nychas
et al., 2008). The problems affecting heat processed or otherwise ef-
fectively treated meat for instance are very different from those en-
countered with fresh meat, although certain mechanisms may still be
common to both. Fresh meat for instance is commonly packed under a
protective atmosphere containing high concentrations of oxygen in
order to retain its fresh colour, which is an important quality char-
acteristic and particularly relevant to fresh beef as it is especially sus-
ceptible to discolouration. The various processes affecting the colour of
fresh meat are schematically depicted in Fig. 1 below (Suman & Joseph,
2013).
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
Processing & packaging Distribution: Supermarket Retail Consumption
0.5%, 10% 2% 25%
15% 7% 17%
5% 1% 4%
2% 10% 19%
5% 4% 11%
6% 9% 11%
1.2% 0.5% 7%
The colour of fresh meat is a major quality parameter for consumers
and beef should ideally be bloomed and bright red, thus containing a
high proportion of oxymyoglobin, when on display (Carpenter,
Cornforth, & Whittier, 2001). High oxygen concentrations clearly may
help to maintain a fresh red colour but can also cause problems during
storage. Especially high fat meats are sensitive to lipid oxidation, which
results in rancidity, and both fresh and processed meat may deteriorate
in quality by way of protein oxidation, which brings with it not only off
flavours and odours but also potential health risks (Papuc, Goran,
Predescu, & Nicorescu, 2017). While vacuum packaging reduces these
mechanisms, it also produces beef with a more purple colour as it
drastically reduces the exposure of the meat to oxygen, thereby in-
hibiting oxymyoglobin formation.
These chemical modifications are primarily important for the sen-
sory qualities and marketability of fresh and processed meat products.
The foremost requirement of the employed packaging system however
is to ensure the safety of the product, which is chiefly threatened by
microbial spoilage. In this respect, fresh meat does differ from many
processed meat products as these utilize effective inactivation processes
such as curing, thermal or pressure treatment (Hui, Nip, & Rogers,
2001). While fresh meats do require strict hygiene standards and con-
tinuous refrigeration, as well as efficient packaging systems, processed
meats are not exempt from risk of microbial proliferation. However,
because they provide excellent conditions for their growth, fresh meats
are highly susceptible to a great number of potentially hazardous pa-
thogens, and is therefore limited in its shelf life (Dave & Ghaly, 2011).
Processed meats also benefit from storage in suitable packaging as they
too provide a good growth medium for microorganisms, introduced
through recontamination or remaining in the product due to incomplete
inactivation. Their propensity for oxidative processes is often also ele-
vated, due for instance to an increase in surface area through slicing or
increased availability of reactive compounds after heat treatment.
An added difficulty in the effort of the meat packaging industry to
provide safe products consists of their wide spread abuse by the retailer
or customer. It has been estimated that in some European countries
roughly 30% of refrigerated foods, including meat, are commonly
stored above 10 °C at the retail and consumer level, thereby sub-
stantially increasing the risk of spoilage and even food borne illnesses
(Nychas et al., 2008). This poses a unique challenge to manufacturers as
they have no direct control over their product once it leaves the factory
and cannot prevent its incorrect storage or use. Besides attempting to
impress the importance of continuous and adequate refrigeration upon
retailers and suppliers, packaging solutions also must be considered as
potential safety measures. To date, the overwhelming majority of
packaging systems does not indicate spoilage and thus primarily fulfills
a containment and spoilage-mitigation function (Mihindukulasuriya &
Lim, 2014).
The general functions of packaging have been summed up by
Robertson et al. as consisting of containment, protection, convenience
and communication (Robertson, 2016). These are likely to remain valid
but do not cover all objectives required to be fulfilled by packaging in
modern developed societies. Especially consumers in western countries
are beginning to expect food safety as a given and are increasingly
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
Fig. 1. Modifications of myoglobin in fresh meats.
(Adapted from Suman and Joseph (2013).)
demanding products, which fulfill a whole host of further conditions.
Fresh and processed meats are no exception with consumers demanding
products which are:
• Nutritious and healthy
• Natural and minimally processed
• Convenient and economical
• Fresh and appealing
• Responsibly produced and packed using sustainable materials
These diverse requirements are combined with the expectancy of
identical or even increased shelf life and of course high standards of
safety (Henchion et al., 2014; Hui et al., 2001; Joseph P Kerry, 2012;
Nordin & Selke, 2010). Their fulfilment represents a substantial chal-
lenge as a reduction of processing intensity or additives is usually as-
sociated with greater susceptibility to microbial growth or other spoi-
lage processes and a corresponding shortening of shelf life. This applies
to the distribution of meat to businesses, which often utilizes vacuum
packaging for a high degree of safety and transport efficiency but also to
the sale of meat to the end consumer, where many alternative formats
of packaging concepts have taken hold (Breen & Wilson, 1998;
Seideman & Durland, 1983). Suitable packaging systems may provide
solutions for issues faced by both fresh and processed meat products
and must evolve to meet new objectives, while not compromising their
previous tasks. This means that shortcomings of established methods
must be compensated and new approaches developed in order to pro-
vide the industry with viable packaging concepts for the future.
3. Novel approaches in meat packaging
3.1. Edible, biodegradable and composite packaging
An important aspect concerning the sustainability of packaging
materials consists in their suitability to be reused, recycled or biologi-
cally broken down after they have served their purpose. Conventional
materials for the use in meat packaging such as polystyrene are pro-
duced from limited resources and their disposal can be environmentally
problematic (Ingrao et al., 2015). Increasing awareness of this issue has
triggered a shift towards the development of bio-based packaging
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
materials.
A novel approach to improving the quality and shelf life of fresh and
processed meat employs the use of edible films, sheets or coatings. By
definition, the thickness of films does not exceed 254 μm and that of
sheets is at least 254 μm. Both are pre-shaped and placed upon the
product while coatings are applied directly to the surface of the product
in a liquid form (Robertson, 2016). The use of these materials has nu-
merous goals, depending on their application these include presenting a
barrier to moisture migration and gas flow, preservation of functional
and mechanical properties as well as an added protection from oxida-
tion and microbial spoilage, sometimes enhanced by the addition of
functional compounds (Falguera, Quintero, Jiménez, Muñoz, & Ibarz,
2011). Apart from its broad range of application edible packaging in
general is also environmentally sustainable as it can be produced from a
wide variety of biologically degradable materials which are either
consumed together with the product or easily broken down post-use
(Robertson, 2016). Direct contact to the surface of the product also
reduces the concentration of active components required to achieve
desired effects. Among the raw materials for the production of edible
packaging polysaccharides show great potential as they are naturally
abundant and often possess excellent barrier functionality and film
forming properties although they are susceptible to moisture migration
(Falguera et al., 2011).
Starch is a good example for a safe and readily available poly-
saccharide, suitable for the production of edible films for meat packa-
ging, but in its native conformation it is limited in its applicability due
to its sensitivity to moisture. Edible films and coatings can be produced
using starch but these merely possess barrier properties without added
antibacterial or antimicrobial functionality. For these reasons, recent
research has focused on the combination of starch with structurally
reinforcing compounds or functional additives like bacteriocins or es-
sential oils (Meira, Zehetmeyer, Werner, & Brandelli, 2017; Radha
krishnan et al., 2015). Radha et al. (Radha krishnan et al., 2015) found
that the application of edible films made with corn starch at 6% and
essential oils from cloves or cinnamon at 3% respectively significantly
reduced microbial growth and colour deterioration of refrigerated,
fresh beef. The use of the same essential oils in edible films based on
tamarind starch also showed positive results with regard to anti-
microbial and antioxidant activity (Rakhavan, Sudharsan, Babuskin, &
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
Sukumar, 2016). Bio-elastomers on the basis of starch have also been
shown to assist in the slow release of essential oils from active films
produced thereof and may effectively withstand dissolution upon con-
tact with water (Tran, Athanassiou, Basit, & Bayer, 2017). This shows
the potential of different starches as primary ingredients together with
functional additives as an efficient and cost effective combination of
materials for use in the production of edible films and biodegradable
packaging materials.
The fact that cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer world-wide
makes it an ideal raw material for the use in sustainable packaging
materials. Cellulose ethers such as methylcellulose hydroxypropyl cel-
lulose, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose are
all suitable for the production of packaging films (Robertson, 2016).
Mirroring the experiment conducted by Radha et al. (Radha krishnan
et al., 2015), Muppalla et al. (Muppalla, Kanatt, Chawla, & Sharma,
2014) incorporated clove oil into carboxymethyl cellulose-polyvinyl
alcohol films and achieved very similar results. Shelf life of their sam-
ples of ground chicken meat was extended from 4 to 12 days, although
the greater surface area and cell destruction compared to the whole
chicken breast as examined by Radha et al. must be taken into account
as this may explain the accelerated spoilage of the ground meat. This
use of cellulose as a raw material for the same application as starch
showcases the wide variety of bulk ingredients available for use in the
production of biodegradable films and their enhancement through the
addition of natural extracts such as essential oils. However, an excessive
concentration of essential oil can reduce the water vapour barrier
properties of some materials (Sung et al., 2014).
Chitosan is another polysaccharide currently under scrutiny as a
raw material for edible coatings and films but also for use in composite
materials. It is produced by way of deacetylation of chitin, which is
present in high concentrations in the exoskeleton of arthropods.
Chitosan naturally inhibits the growth of a broad spectrum of micro-
organisms (Vu, Hollingsworth, Leroux, Salmieri, & Lacroix, 2011). Its
antimicrobial activity is greatly influenced by its molecular weight with
values below 300 kDa reportedly increasing its inhibitory effect on S.
aureus while its suppressive effect on E. coli decreased (Zheng & Zhu,
2003). Depending on the composition of the food matrix, chitosan may
migrate into the matrix to a certain degree but this only occurs when it
is in direct contact with the surface of the treated food. The extent of
migration as well as the efficacy of chitosan are closely connected to its
incompatibility with the treated product. This means that an increased
concentration of cation-binding substances in the food matrix limits the
depth of penetration of the cationic chitosan into the product, while
also hampering its antimicrobial effectiveness (Devlieghere,
Vermeulen, & Debevere, 2004; Kubota & Kikuchi, 1998). Chitosan has a
limited capacity for the absorption of water and its solubility and the
associated sensitivity are highly dependent on its molecular weight,
with lower molecular weight resulting in a larger number of polar and
therefore hydrophilic polymer ends (Gocho, Shimizu, Tanioka, Chou, &
Nakajima, 2000). This means, that chitosan based films display a low
sensitivity to water, the extent of which can be influenced by the choice
of raw material i.e. molecular weight. The wide applicability of chit-
osan allows for the development of various packaging systems for fresh
and processed meat. By adding nanocellulose to a chitosan film, Dehnad
et al. achieved improved mechanical film properties, as well as a re-
duction of lactic acid bacteria on ground meat packed therein by
3.1 log cfu (colony forming units)/g compared to the control (Dehnad,
Mirzaei, Emam-Djomeh, Jafari, & Dadashi, 2014). Quesada et al. were
able to control the growth of yeasts and reduce water condensation in a
refrigerated ready to eat meat product by applying a chitosan film,
infused with essential oils extracted from thyme, to the inside of the
package (Quesada, Sendra, Navarro, & Sayas-Barberá, 2016). This was
achieved by pouring the prepared chitosan solution onto the surface of
the packaging and allowing it to dry for 72 h, thereby obtaining a thin
layer on the inside of the packaging material. While bacterial growth
was not inhibited due to the lack of contact of the product to the active
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
film, the appearance of the cooked ham used in the experiments was
superior to that of the control. Vasile et al. have found that by coating
with or incorporating chitosan into LDPE at 3 and 6% the oxygen
barrier properties of the resulting film were significantly improved
(Vasile et al., 2014). The O2 transmission rate of the untreated LDPE
film used for the experiments was found to be 3833.36 ml/m2 ∗ day,
which was lowered to as little as 2142 ml/m2 ∗ day by the addition of a
10–20 μm layer of chitosan. The permeability tests were carried out at
0% relative humidity and 23 °C, with nitrogen, carbon dioxide and
oxygen as test gasses. Also, the antimicrobial activity bestowed by the
addition of chitosan increased the shelf life of the ground poultry meat,
which was packed in the developed film. The inclusion of, or coating
with, chitosan did not alter the mechanical properties of the film and
shows promise for future application. Also, the combination of chitosan
with other natural materials such as nanocellulose may remedy the
structural shortcomings of many bio polymers and make these more
competitive to petroleum-based packaging materials (Dehnad et al.,
2014).
Poly lactic acid (PLA) is another example for a biodegradable ma-
terial which is being investigated for its synergistic effects. When added
to a chitosan based film, even at just 10%, PLA reduces water vapour
permeability through its hydrophobic makeup (Suyatma, Copinet,
Tighzert, & Coma, 2004). Due to its affordability, good mechanical
properties and biodegradability, efforts to utilize PLA in a wide range of
applications have been made for some time. As in the case of chitosan,
these often include the use of antimicrobial substances. For instance,
Zhang et al. produced promising results by introducing nisin into PLA
based films, reducing the number of Salmonella enteritidis from
6.8 log cfu/ml to 3.5 log cfu/ml on and around the contact area of the
film (Jin & Zhang, 2008).
A wide variety of proteins also offer the opportunity to enhance the
functionality of packaging materials as their use often produces better
barriers against oxygen, carbon dioxide and aromas (Robertson, 2016).
Applying a protein layer to the packaging surface may therefore im-
prove both plastic and biodegradable materials (Cinelli et al., 2014). If
they are to be used in the production of packaging materials, the
availability and suitability of proteins is of great importance and there
are efforts afoot to utilize waste streams from different food production
operations such as oil, dairy and starch production (Du et al., 2015;
Fernández-Pan, Mendoza, & Maté, 2013; Song, Song, Jo, & Song, 2013).
For instance, Song et al. have proposed the use of sunflower seed pro-
tein as a byproduct of sunflower oil production in the development of a
composite film for meat packaging applications (Song et al., 2013).
With the addition of a plasticizer, films produced on the basis of this
protein showed good stability and elasticity. Adding grapefruit seed
extract imparted antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes,
reducing the number of bacteria on a laboratory growth medium by
1.11 log cfu/g. More traditional raw materials for use in coatings are
also being re-examined in the context of novel applications, often in-
volving the use of newly developed or natural additives. For instance,
gelatin based films and coatings can be optimized by the addition of
such functional components (Ramos, Valdés, Beltrán, & Garrigós,
2016). Cardoso et al. (Cardoso et al., 2016) found that a blend of 3–6%
gelatin, 0.5–1.0% chitosan and 6% glycerol produced a coating capable
of substantially reducing weight loss, lipid oxidation and colour de-
gradation of beef during display, thereby extending the shelf life of the
product and reducing waste. Because of its structure, gelatin, like many
of the polysaccharides, can also be used to deliver antioxidants or an-
timicrobial substances to the product surface. Essential oils as natural
extracts are being increasingly examined in this context as they are
easily incorporated into the gelatin matrix and naturally preserve the
product at low concentrations and high consumer acceptance (Oliveira,
Brugnera, & Piccoli, 2013). The addition of essential oils has also been
used to increase the structural strength and water vapour barrier
functions of gelatin based films (Gallego, Gordon, Segovia, & Almajano
Pablos, 2016).
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
Table 2
Commercial products for antimicrobial food packaging.
(Adapted from Sung et al. (2013).)
Active compound Matrix Application
Silver substituted Zeolite LLDPE, PE, PVE, rubber Film, Wrap, milk containers, paperboard cartons
Chlorine dioxide Polyolefin Film, sachet
Ethanol Silicon dioxide Sachet
Sulfur dioxide Laminated plastic sheet with Na2S2O5 Sheet or pad for postharvest storage of grape fruits
Triclosan Polymer, rubber Food container
Wasabi extract Encapsulation in cyclodextrin Coated PET film, tablet
A functional and readily available by-product of the food industry is
whey protein derived from cheese production. Due to its excellent
barrier properties towards oxygen, it has been examined for the de-
velopment of new coated packaging materials for some time
(Robertson, 2016). However, recent research has focused on finding
more sustainable applications for whey protein which facilitate end of
life treatment and focus on the use of natural compounds. As it is
biologically degradable, it lends itself to increasing the barrier func-
tionality of bio-polymer based films without compromising their post
use decomposition (Cinelli et al., 2014). This is part of an effort to
develop improved packaging materials which utilize synergy effects
between different natural materials aiming to replace oil based poly-
mers in the meat packaging industry. The use of suitable enzymes
during the recycling process also enables the removal of whey protein
based coatings from conventional packaging materials, thus increasing
the range of their potential application without reducing the sustain-
ability associated with recyclable polymers (Cinelli, Schmid,
Bugnicourt, Coltelli, & Lazzeri, 2016). Good film forming properties
also make whey protein available to the delivery of functional com-
ponents to the surface of fresh and processed meat (Fernández-Pan
et al., 2013).
Many other proteins such as soy protein, corn zein, casein and
wheat gluten are also being examined as potential raw materials for the
development of biodegradable films (Guerrero, O'Sullivan, Kerry, & de
la Caba, 2015; Ozcalik & Tihminlioglu, 2013; Robertson, 2016). This
review has focused on a few relevant examples in order to highlight the
trend towards a more sustainable future in the packaging industry. It
should also be noted that the use of proteins in food packaging in
general should always be critically examined, as they constitute po-
tential allergens and may be harmful to a growing consumer segment
suffering from food allergies (Robertson, 2016). Also, the use of some of
the mentioned raw materials, such as starch or wheat gluten, for the
production of packaging materials are controversial, as they may
compete with food production and thereby contribute to shortages or
price inflation of staple foods as many countries have already experi-
enced in the context of bio-fuel production (Rudel, 2013).
3.2. Active packaging
According to the European Regulation (EC) No. 450/2009 on active
and intelligent materials and articles intended to come into contact
with food, “active materials and articles […] are intended to extend the
shelf-life or to maintain or improve the condition of packaged food;
they are designed to deliberately incorporate components that would
release or absorb substances into or from the packaged food or the
environment surrounding the food”.
3.2.1. Antimicrobial active packaging
Previously mentioned health risks, associated with fresh and pro-
cessed meat, have prompted research into the reduction of microbial
growth by many different means. Active packaging is an important area
of research as it can assist in controlling the conditions under which
meat is held for the majority of its storage, distribution and sale (Joseph
P Kerry, 2012). Zhang et al. have estimated that ubiquitous use of active
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
Trade name
AgIon®, Zeomic™, Cleanaid™, Novaron®
MicroGarde™, Microsphere™
Ethicap™
Uvasy™
Microban®
Wasapower™
packaging has the potential to reduce beef losses at the retail level by
147,600 t annually in the EU alone, with further reductions attainable
by extending their effect at the consumption level (Zhang, Hortal,
Dobon, Bermudez, & Lara-Lledo, 2015).
In general, antimicrobial agents may be applied directly to the
surface of the product, which often entails a high degree of migration of
the utilized compound into the product and limits its effectiveness to
the vicinity of its application, or consist of volatile substances in the
headspace. The latter method shows an effect on the entire exposed
product surface, which in the case of meat is often sufficient as the
interior may usually be assumed to be sterile. This also results in re-
duced migration of the additive into the product, which in some cases
may be of sensory or regulatory concern (Ahvenainen, 2003).
In order to give a small overview of existing approaches, Table 2
below shows some examples for already available products intended for
antimicrobial packaging. While by far not comprehensive, the list of
various compounds, matrices and forms of delivery shows the breadth
of possible avenues for future developments.
New active packaging solutions for the control of microbial growth
on fresh and processed meat utilize a wide variety of techniques, some
of them already mentioned as part of the overview on novel packaging
materials above. For instance, dipping chicken breast fillets into a 1 g/
100 ml chitosan solution before packaging under air, extended their
shelf life from 5 to 11 days and in combination with MAP using 70%
CO2 and 30% N2 even to 14 days (Latou, Mexis, Badeka, Kontakos, &
Kontominas, 2014). When infused with mint- or pomegranate peel ex-
tract, films composed of chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol have the po-
tential to completely inhibit the proliferation of Bacillus cereus and re-
duce the population of Staphylococcus aureus by 2 orders of magnitude
(Kanatt, Rao, Chawla, & Sharma, 2012). It is important to note that the
antimicrobial activity of these films was only present where they came
into contact with the product while the release of phenols as anti-
oxidants from the films benefitted the entire surface of the product.
However, the antimicrobial effect of these films shows the potential of
natural extracts used in combination with bioactive packaging mate-
rials.
Increasingly, synergy effects of this kind are being examined in the
context of active packaging, as they are able to extend the shelf life of
products and make a reduction of additives possible. The example
above shows the potential of natural components to increase the ef-
fectiveness of conventional packaging methods such as MAP by ex-
ploiting different weaknesses of microorganisms. Novel active MAP
combines active coatings of packaging materials with a modified at-
mosphere within the packaging. Recent research has placed particular
emphasis on this technology, often employing natural compounds as
functional additives. Part of this trend is the use of various essential oils
as functional components in meat packaging systems, which has been
subject to increasing research. Paparella et al. have shown that the
combination of a chitosan (CH) based film with oregano essential oil
(OEO) is capable of increasing the antimicrobial effect of the latter
significantly (Paparella et al., 2016). This was most pronounced at 4%
essential oil in the film. By efficiently reducing the growth of Pseudo-
monas and Brochothrix species, both responsible for meat spoilage, and
containing the proliferation of the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes, the
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
shelf life of fresh pork fillets, packed under a modified atmosphere of
70% O2, 20% CO2 and 10% N2, could be increased from 12 to over
18 days compared to the untreated control by using this combination.
Bacteriocins have also successfully been used to augment the efficacy of
MAP and vacuum packaging. Ercolini et al. have shown that fresh beef,
stored at 1 °C in nisin-activated plastic bags, showed a 1–3 log cfu/g
reduction in the number of enterobacteria between 22 and 32 days of
storage compared to the control in untreated bags. The activated
packaging was prepared by pouring a HCl, nisin and EDTA solution into
a bag composed of a copolymer from vinylidene chloride and ethyl
vinyl alcohol and allowing the components to penetrate for 1 h at room
temperature before use (Ercolini et al., 2010). However, by combining
this antimicrobial agent with vacuum packaging, the shelf life of fresh
beef can be extended, from 7 days or 21 days respectively for nisin-
activated packaging or vacuum packaging alone, to 44 days using a
combination of both (Ercolini et al., 2011). La Storia et al. used the
same principle for the treatment of high density polyethylene film
(HDPE) with a nisin solution but combined the resulting films with
MAP. The nisin activated films were placed directly onto the surface of
beefsteaks, which were subsequently packed in polystyrene trays and
sealed under 60% O2 and 40% CO2 with low density polyethylene film.
This combination resulted in a reduction of the total viable count on
fresh beef steaks from 7.68 log cfu/g, found for samples stored at 4 °C
for 12 days in nisin-activated packaging under air, to 3.67 log cfu/g in
those with MAP under otherwise identical conditions (La Storia et al.,
2012).
Sung et al. found that garlic oil at a concentration of as little as 2%
in conventional plastic packaging can effectively inhibit the growth of
Listeria monocytogenes on ready to eat meat products during storage at
4 °C for 15 days (Sung et al., 2014). However, the effect of garlic oil,
even at higher concentrations of up to 8%, on the proliferation on Es-
cherichia coli and Bacillus thermosphacta was negligible. By applying an
edible film based on whey protein isolate and glycerol with essential
oils of oregano or clove, Fernández-Pan et al. were able to significantly
reduce microbial growth on the surface of poultry (Fernández-Pan
et al., 2013). Here too, the extent of suppression achieved for different
bacterial populations varied depending on the species. Mulla et al.
coated a chromic acid modified Linear low-density polyethylene
(LLDPE) film with clove essential oil, which achieved effective inhibi-
tion of Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes in minced
chicken packed in the LLDPE/CA/CLO film (Mulla et al., 2016). Within
one day of storage, the initial microbial load of the two bacteria was
reduced by 2–3 orders of magnitude compared to the control which was
packed in untreated LLDPE. By the 5th day of storage, the microbial
count remained constant and was sustained throughout a 21-day sto-
rage period at 4 °C. The combination of an active packaging film, in-
fused with coriander essential oil, with high pressure processing
showed a synergistic effect for the suppression of Listeria monocytogenes
in ready-to-eat chicken breast (Stratakos, Delgado-Pando, Linton,
Patterson, & Koidis, 2015). Although temperature control of the treated
product remained vital, the experiments showed a potential for the
reduction of processing intensity without a loss of food safety of quality.
Due to the large number of food borne diseases associated especially
with fresh meat, these approaches represent a promising development
in the reduction of risk in this category by use of natural means. The
application of essential oils as functional components can be limited by
their usually strong smell, which restricts the acceptable concentration
in packaging materials. However, as well as boosting overall anti-
microbial activity, the combination of essential oils with other tech-
nologies such as MAP or bio active films may allow a sufficient re-
duction of the necessary OE concentration as to not negatively
influence the sensory properties of the product while still contributing
significant antimicrobial activity (Jayasena & Jo, 2013).
Tornuk et al. have demonstrated the use of nanoclays, loaded with
specific essential oils, as antimicrobial additives in LDPE films for the
packaging of sliced fermented sausage (Tornuk, Hancer, Sagdic, &
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
Yetim, 2015). The use of thymol and carvacrol was particularly effec-
tive, reducing the number of lactic acid bacteria by 1 log cfu/g and
significantly suppressing the proliferation of Escherichia coli O157:H7
compared to the control with untreated LDPE during a storage period of
30 days at 10 °C. An extract containing a blend of polyphenols added to
ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) films also showed good antimicrobial
activity (Barbosa-Pereira, Angulo, Lagarón, Paseiro-Losada, & Cruz,
2014). At 6% extract concentration in the film, the growth of Staphy-
lococcus aureus on fresh beef samples was reduced by 90% after the first
day of storage at 4 °C and by 99% after day 6 compared to control
samples packed in untreated EVA. The proliferation of Staphylococcus
aureus on fresh pork has also been effectively inhibited with the help of
zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles, which were used as a coating on so-
dium carboxymethyl cellulose film (Suo et al., 2016). The resulting
active film reduced its growth by more than 3 log cfu/g during a 14 day
storage period at 4 °C compared to samples stored in untreated film.
While the total plate count on fresh pork was also significantly reduced
by packaging in the active film, the ZnO showed particular effectiveness
against Staphylococcus aureus. Cell analysis indicated, that the ZnO
nanoparticles encouraged its cell membrane integrity to be compro-
mised at low temperatures. This observation is of great interest for the
development of meat packaging systems, as Staphylococcus aureus is
typically very resistant to cold storage conditions (Whiting, Sackitey,
Calderone, Morely, & Phillips, 1996). The efficacy of active packaging
loaded with ZnO nanoparticles against Staphylococcus aureus was con-
firmed by Akbar et al. and also shown for Salmonella typhimurium
(Akbar & Anal, 2014). By actively causing the lysis of bacteria on the
surface of ready to eat poultry meat during a 10 day storage period at
8 °C, the edible sodium alginate based films with ZnO nanoparticles
were able to reduce the count of both species to zero. The ZnO nano-
material used in these experiments is currently considered as safe for
food applications and has good potential for improving the safety of
fresh and processed meat products. The combination of ZnO with Ag
nanoparticles, which have already been extensively tested in meat
packaging systems, also showed good inhibitory activity against a
broad spectrum of microorganisms on fresh chicken breast (Panea,
Ripoll, González, Fernández-Cuello, & Albertí, 2014). A combination
approach using Ag nanoparticles together with chitosan and lysozyme
from egg white in an edible hydroxypropyl methylcellulose based hy-
drosol has recently been shown to possess excellent antimicrobial
properties (Zimoch-Korzycka & Jarmoluk, 2015). Its application to the
surface of fresh beef, before vacuum packing and storage at 4 °C, almost
completely inhibited the growth of Bacillus cereus, Micrococcus flavus,
Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas fluorescens during a 3-week storage
period. The exploitation of synergy effects as shown here holds great
potential not only for the replacement or reduction of individual ad-
ditives but also for the development of more effective active packaging
systems and a reduction of required processing intensity. However,
under current EU legislation (Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 laying
down specific hygiene rules for on the hygiene of foodstuffs), meat
products of this kind i.e. containing additives, may not be sold as fresh
meat but only as meat preparations. This confines the sale of such
products to countries without equivalent legislation or necessitates the
use of alternative labelling in order to comply with these rules.
By incorporating bacteriophages in cellulose acetate films to target
Salmonella enterica, Gouvêa et al. (Gouvêa, Mendonça, Soto, & Cruz,
2015) took a novel approach to combatting the growth of pathogens in
food products. For the production of the films, a mixture of cellulose
acetate and acetone in a proportion of 1:10 was prepared. Phages were
added in the form of a suspension buffer at an initial concentration of
1010 PFU ml−1 and the resulting mass homogenized before being ap-
plied to clean glass plates in order to obtain thin films after the eva-
poration of the volatile solvent. Although no elevated heat was used,
the concentration of viable phages was lowered to 108 PFU ml−1 during
the production of the films alone. It is likely that this inactivation would
be significantly exacerbated by the use of conventional high heat
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
production methods for thermoplastic packaging materials. The bac-
teriophages were isolated from the faeces of chicken and pigs as well as
from poultry exudates and retained their antimicrobial activity for a
period of 14 days after being incorporated in the film. By adding the
bacteriophages the porosity and roughness of the film increased, in-
dicating their unfavourable interaction with the film material. Anti-
microbial activity differed substantially from that of chemical agents.
Due to their infection-based inactivation mechanism, the bacter-
iophages displayed more dynamic behaviour and did not efficiently
inhibit the growth of the target bacteria. This is likely to stem from a
certain minimal bacteria concentration, required for the effectiveness of
the bacteriophages, as well as from their partial immobilization in the
film matrix. These factors lead to an eventual, local suppression of the
target bacteria without the speed or efficiency of conventional pre-
servatives. The application of the virus to a solid substrate therefore
does not constitute an ideal scenario for the inactivation of its host. By
applying the technique to products with a more fluid texture such as
marinated meat, the bacteriophage would possibly be capable of more
rapidly infecting a larger proportion of the target bacteria as mobility
through diffusion in a liquid phase would facilitate this process. As
many species of Salmonella are potent pathogens frequently found in
fresh and processed meat, the use of a specific antimicrobial agent such
as a bacteriophage represents an innovative and attractive tool to im-
proving food hygiene and safety. However, the use of viruses for food
applications in general and in this instance also their faeces based
source complicate their use from a legal as well as a consumer accep-
tance perspective.
A more pragmatic approach for the suppression of pathogens on
fresh chicken meat was described by Melero et al. who combined MAP
with the application of 2 protective bacterial cultures (Melero, Vinuesa,
Diez, Jaime, & Rovira, 2013). Inoculating chicken burgers with Leuco-
nostoc pseudomesenteroides PCK18 reduced the growth of Listeria
monocytogenes by 1.22 log cfu/g as compared to the control while also
delaying the proliferation of Campylobacter species. Spraying chicken
legs with a suspension of Bifidobacterium longum ssp. longum PCB133
achieved a 1.16 log cfu/g reduction compared to samples sprayed with
distilled water. The shelf life of the treated products was doubled in
both cases by the additional use of MAP containing 50% CO2, 10% O2
and 40% N2 for the chicken burgers and 30% CO2 and 70% N2 for the
chicken legs. By treating sliced, cured and smoked pork loin with a
suspension of Lactobacillus sakei, Vaz Velho et al. achieved effective
inhibition of Listeria innocua as a model organism for Listeria mono-
cytogenes. The growth of Listeria innocua was reduced by 1–2 log cfu/g
after 12 h compared to the untreated control and was further reduced
by the application of MAP with 40% CO2 and 60% N2 (Vaz Velho et al.,
2015). In combination with vacuum or modified atmosphere packa-
ging, the use of a mixture of Lactobacillus sakei strains as protective
cultures in ground beef may inhibit the growth of Salmonella typhi-
murium and Escherichia coli (Chaillou et al., 2014). Increased diversity
of strains proved to enhance their overall ability to suppress the pro-
liferation of targeted pathogens.
The use of microorganisms to inhibit the growth of meat related
pathogens, shows potential for application against specific strains of
bacteria in a wide range of fresh and processed meats, especially when
combined with other techniques such as MAP. However, the safety of
the employed microbial agents and the lack of unwanted sensory al-
terations caused by their presence must be established before com-
mercial use can be considered. Also, the incorporation of viable mi-
croorganisms into packaging systems, however effective, may well
encounter resistance at the retail and consumer level.
3.2.2. Novel strategies for the control of fresh meat discolouration
As previously mentioned, the discolouration of fresh meats depends
to a great extent on the composition of the atmosphere surrounding it,
the nature and extent of its processing and its own composition. Fresh
beef is particularly susceptible to discolouration and can be packed in a
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
variety of different packaging systems such as MAP or vacuum packa-
ging (VAC) in order to maintain or enhance its colour. López-Campos
et al. have described the use of a conventional method for a novel ap-
plication (López-Campos, Zawadski, Landry, Aalhus, & Uttaro, 2014).
By simply using conventional MAP with 20% CO2 and 80% O2, they
were able to affect a colour modification of dark cutting beef resulting
in a colour very similar to normal meat. Blooming of the colour, caused
by the high oxygen concentration changed the appearance of the
packaged beef sufficiently for it to be acceptable to the consumer.
However, Jayasingh et al. have shown that oxidative processes asso-
ciated with high oxygen packaging may lead to considerable sensory
deterioration of meat products, especially raw meats with a high sur-
face area such as ground beef (Jayasingh, Cornforth, Brennand,
Carpenter, & Whittier, 2002). Microbial risks may also be exacerbated
by this form of packaging when compared to low oxygen MAP or va-
cuum packaging as the growth rate and final population of some pa-
thogens like Listeria monocytogenes may be substantially increased by a
high oxygen environment (Tsigarida, Skandamis, & Nychas, 2000).
The use of carbon monoxide (CO), although currently banned for
direct contact with food within the EU, shows good potential for ap-
plication to the packaging of fresh meat, as it not only inhibits microbial
proliferation but also assists in the preservation of colour in a low
oxygen atmosphere (Yang et al., 2016). Yang et al. showed that by
using MAP with 0.4% CO, 30% CO2 and 69.6% N2, the shelf life of fresh
beef steaks could be extended from 8 to 12 days compared to samples in
aerobic MAP with 80% O2 or 50% O2. The CO MAP samples also
showed higher redness than vacuum packed samples, which demon-
strates the functionality of CO and rules out the absence of oxygen as
the sole contributing factor. The use of CO-producing oxygen sca-
vengers also shows promise as these combine a reduction of residual or
migrated Oxygen concentration with the supply of a protective gas
(Arteaga, Cutter, Campbell, & Mills, 2016). While the reduced oxygen
level helped to prevent the formation of metmyoglobin in fresh ground
beef, the produced CO also increased colour stability as well as sup-
pressing microbial growth. However, the application of CO in meat
packaging systems is no longer restricted to MAP. Sakowska et al. have
shown that CO can be used to pre-treat fresh beef steaks before vacuum
packaging (CO VAC), thereby improving their appearance when com-
pared to samples packed in CO MAP (Sakowska, Guzek, Sun, &
Wierzbicka, 2016). The CO VAC samples were prepared by subjecting
steaks to 0.5% CO MAP for 48 h and subsequently vacuum packing
them in PA/PE bags while the CO MAP samples remained in the 0.5%
CO MAP for the entire storage period. The benefits of using CO VAC as
opposed to CO MAP were summarized as delivering increased consumer
acceptance concerning tenderness as well as a reduction of required
packaging material and transport volume. Because its use is restricted
in many countries, the application of CO on fresh and processed meat
products is limited at present but research aiming to reduce the ne-
cessary concentration in treated products may eventually assist in
overcoming these barriers.
A more currently viable approach combining VAC with MAP has
recently been suggested by Łopacka et al. (Łopacka, Półtorak, &
Wierzbicka, 2017). Beef steaks were sealed in semi permeable vacuum
skin packaging (VSP) film and subsequently placed into MAP with
water and gas barrier properties containing 80% O2 and 20% CO2. This
method provided similar colour stability as conventional MAP but also
succeeded in substantially reducing lipid oxidation compared to that
observed in MAP with a high oxygen concentration. This example re-
presents a good effort to mitigate the downsides of MAP while preser-
ving its proven advantages.
3.2.3. Antioxidant active packaging
Packaging systems play an important role in the protection of fresh
and processed meat from lipid and protein oxidation as well as the
development of off flavours. While some active packaging solutions
individually have positive effects on some quality parameters of these
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
products, such as the colour, they may also possess weaknesses in other
areas. The high oxygen concentration often used in MAP of fresh meat
for instance may result in significant lipid or protein oxidation and the
formation of off flavours or odours (Spanos, Tørngren, Christensen, &
Baron, 2016). Antioxidant active packaging may use independent de-
vices which contain functional materials and are placed in the pack or
consist of packaging materials into which these have been incorporated
(Gómez-Estaca, López-de-Dicastillo, Hernández-Muñoz, Catalá, &
Gavara, 2014). In this context, the use of natural compounds for their
antioxidant activities has received considerable attention in recent
years.
Gallego et al. have demonstrated that, even at low concentrations of
0.2% and 1% respectively, plant extracts from tara (Caesalpinia spinosa)
and shoofly (Caesalpinia decapetala) show excellent antioxidant activity
when incorporated into gelatin based films (Gallego et al., 2016). Their
use during a 12-day storage period reduced the formation of TBARS
(Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) in raw beef patties packed in
the active film, more efficiently than the synthetic BHA (Butylated
hydroxyanisole) at 0.001%. These results may be used to shed some
light on the question whether natural compounds can match conven-
tional additives in their antioxidant efficacy. This would be an im-
portant aspect when considering their replacement and has yet to be
determined for many of the proposed substances as these have often
only been compared to completely untreated samples without controls
using synthetic antioxidants.
By extracting polyphenolic compounds from poly-
vinylpolypyrollidone, which had previously been used as cleaning
agent during the clarification step of beer in a brewery, Barbosa-Pereira
et al. were able to utilize a residual stream of beer production to obtain
highly effective natural antioxidants (Barbosa-Pereira, Aurrekoetxea,
Angulo, Paseiro-Losada, & Cruz, 2014). After purification, the resulting
concentrate was applied to an LDPE film and this used to pack fresh
beef, which was subsequently stored at 4 °C for 16 days. At 20% con-
centration, this blend was able to reduce the lipid oxidation of the meat
samples during storage by 90% compared to the untreated LDPE con-
trol. The effectiveness of this method and the procurement of its
functional components show the great potential of natural compounds
as active agents in packaging systems while also demonstrating the
possible exploitation of waste streams in the food industry. Contini
et al. have taken a more controlled approach by using a standardized,
commercially available citrus extract (Contini, Álvarez et al., 2014;
Contini, Katsikogianni et al., 2014). They showed, that PET trays coated
with the extract released phenolic compounds, which had an affinity to
the aqueous phase of cooked turkey. Primarily carboxylic acids and
flavanones proved to effectively reduce lipid oxidation upon migrating
into the surface of the meat.
As already mentioned, several purified essential oils also show good
antioxidant activity when incorporated into active film materials.
Increasing research into essential oils and their application to meat
packaging systems has shown their potential to counteract the detri-
mental effects of high oxygen concentrations in MAP on the quality of
fresh meat. By combining MAP, using 80% O2 and 20% CO2, with an
active film containing oregano essential oil at 2%, lipid and protein
oxidation of fresh foal steaks can be significantly reduced (Lorenzo,
Batlle, & Gómez, 2014). The addition of the essential oil to the packa-
ging film doubled their shelf life in regard to their colour and odour as
well as efficiently inhibiting the formation of metmyoglobin and im-
proving the suppression of microorganisms compared to the pure MAP
control. Hu et al. have combined the use of nanotechnology with the
antioxidant effect of a natural essential oil (Hu, Wang, Xiao, & Bi,
2015). LDPE films coated with 527 nm chitosan particles, loaded with
cinnamon essential oil, were very effective in reducing oxidation re-
actions of chilled pork samples during 15 days of storage at 4 °C. Mi-
croencapsulation allowed a large amount of essential to be incorporated
and enabled its slow release from the active packaging film. This re-
sulted is sustained effectiveness as well as an acceptable level of
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
cinnamon odour. The extent of sensory impairment caused by essential
oils, for instance extracted from oregano, has been found to be low,
even when used at effective levels. The flavour contribution from this
particular oil was either perceived as pleasant or as barely noticeable
(Goulas & Kontominas, 2007; Skandamis & Nychas, 2002). However, as
these results may not be observable with all essential oils with anti-
microbial effect at the necessary levels, the possible formation of off
flavours remains a weakness of these additives. It may be possible to
sufficiently reduce the negative sensory impact by utilizing synergy
effects with other additives or materials in order to preserve the anti-
microbial efficacy in the application of these natural components.
Nanoselenium as a component of a novel multilayer film has also
been shown to possess excellent antioxidant properties and potential for
meat packaging applications (Vera et al., 2016). Selenium nanoparticles
were used as a radical scavenging layer between an outer film of PET
and an inner layer of LDPE. As PET effectively prevents the permeation
of radicals, while these may cross the LDPE layer, the active layer was
shielded from external radicals and was able to efficiently remove those
formed from oxygen within the package. The use of this laminate
structure meant that radicals could only be neutralized after they had
permeated the inner packaging layer, but also that the packaged food
did not come into direct contact with the nanoparticles. This may re-
duce the efficacy of this method compared to methods utilizing direct
application of nanomaterials to the inside of the packaging material.
However, as the scientific discussion concerning the safety of nano-
technology for food applications has not been concluded, the segrega-
tion of food product and nanoparticles may reduce legal hurdles for the
application of this technology while also increasing consumer accep-
tance (Bumbudsanpharoke & Ko, 2015).
3.3. Intelligent packaging
The function of intelligent packaging systems lies in their detection
of changes to the properties of the packaged product or its environment
and their communication to the outside world (J. P. Kerry, O'Grady, &
Hogan, 2006). These systems can be divided into the categories of in-
dicators, sensors and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags (S. Y.
Lee, Lee, Choi, & Hur, 2015). The application of intelligent packaging
systems to the packaging of fresh and processed meat shows great po-
tential as it is capable of alerting the manufacturer, retailer and con-
sumer to spoilage of the product, which in these product categories is
associated with severe health risks.
3.3.1. Time temperature indicators
The temperature at which fresh and processed meat is stored has an
enormous impact on its shelf life. As the cool chain is not always
maintained during distribution of these products or at the retail and
consumption level, time temperature sensors (TTIs) can act as an ad-
ditional safety precaution (Mohebi & Marquez, 2015). By employing
temperature sensitive compounds, optical changes of devices such as
stickers on the outside of packages are used to indicate when a product
has spent a critical time above a certain temperature. Considerable
research into the development of TTIs has been conducted over the
years but novel approaches are still being explored (Realini & Marcos,
2014).
Nemet et al. have developed a recently patented time and tem-
perature dependent tamper-proof barcode indicator (Nemet, 2014). By
printing a barcode using a specialized colouring agent, the original,
machine readable barcode is altered by the time and temperature de-
pendent migration of the colour particles. This process gradually
transforms the barcode, eventually creating a new version and making
the old version unreadable once a critical time and temperature limit is
exceeded. The new machine readable barcode then contains the in-
formation that the product is no longer safe for consumption. By em-
ploying this technology in the packaging of fresh and processed meat,
an interruption of the cold chain can easily and very affordably be
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
recognized without exposing the product to the applied chemical.
An interesting new smart label combining microbial and chemical
agents has been developed by the French company Cryolog (Skinner,
2014). The indicator is contained within a multilayer polymer sachet,
which is connected to the outside of the package and consists of a nu-
trient gel matrix blended with a culture of Carnobacterium mal-
taromaticum and the pH indicator acid fuchsin. The temperature de-
pendent growth of the non-pathogen results in the formation of
biogenic amines, which in turn affect a colour change of the acid
fuchsin from green to red. Due to its lack of direct contact with the food
product and the relative safety of its components, the Efsa has deemed
this indicator as safe for external use on food packaging materials (Efsa
Panel on Food Contact Materials & Processing, 2013). The sensitivity of
the employed microbial agent limits its use to temperatures between
2 °C and 12 °C and means that it may be irreversibly compromised in its
function if thermally mistreated. However, the use of bacteria in TTIs
has the potential to significantly increase their reliability, as they are
capable of more closely reflecting the growth of microorganisms within
the package than are chemical agents. A close similarity between the
Arrhenius temperature dependence of a TTI using lactic acid bacteria
and spoilage bacteria on vacuum packed fresh chicken breast has been
demonstrated by Park et al. (Park, Kim, Jung, Kim, & Lee, 2013). The
correlation was particularly high with coliform bacteria and highlights
the advantage of utilizing bacteria as part of a TTI.
TTIs may find broad applicability in the packaging of fresh and
processed meat, but are also limited in their precision, as they only
document thermal abuse after the packaging process and fail to reflect
packaging defects and other temperature independent factors influen-
cing shelf life. Innovative approaches in this category, such as the use of
bacteria in TTIs, have the potential to augment other intelligent systems
or be applied to products with specifically temperature dependent
spoilage mechanisms and well controlled pre-packaging conditions.
3.3.2. Freshness indicators
The use of freshness indicators aims to make the quality of a
packaged food visible, by detecting changes taking place because of
microbial proliferation and the presence of microbial metabolites
within the package. In the case of packaged meat, important signs of
microbial spoilage include a reduction of the pH, an increase of the CO2
concentration and the formation of biogenic amines (Smolander, 2008).
Direct detection of microbial spoilage, which constitutes the most im-
portant concern in the category of fresh and processed meat, requires
highly selective methods and suitable critical levels assigned to the
respective metabolites or property changes. Also, as this variety of in-
dicator must be placed inside the packaging or be reachable by the
relevant compounds through migration processes, the practical appli-
cation of many previously developed systems has proven difficult
(Kerry et al., 2006). These have often been based on synthetic and
sometimes toxic substances, which have raised concerns with regard to
possible health hazards resulting from their potential leakage from, or
migration through, protective packaging layers into the food product.
This review has found a tendency towards the development of pH in-
dicators in this field, possibly due to the broad selection of non-ha-
zardous indicators, the ubiquity of pH reducing pathogens as well as the
opportunity for a quantitative indication of spoilage. Therefore, the
focus has been placed on systems, which either use the direct detection
of acids produced by microorganisms or those which utilize pH changes
caused by an intermediary, such as CO2.
Numerous recent approaches have explored the potential of natural
materials, which would be safe for use inside the packaging, to be
employed as a part of freshness indicators. Lee and Ko have shown the
potential of whey protein isolate (WPI) to act as a CO2 indicator (K. Lee
& Ko, 2014). Fig. 2 shows its operating principle, which is based on a
pH reduction within the WPI solution, contained in a CO2-permeable
LDPE sachet, caused by the migration of CO2 from the headspace into
the indicator. The increasing concentration of carbonic acid (H2CO3),
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
resulting from the dissolution of CO2, in the indicator results in a pH
reduction, eventually causing the WPI to become irreversibly insoluble
at a pH of approximately 6.0. This in turn causes the indicator sachet to
become opaque, thereby signalizing the spoilage of the product, con-
tained within the package.
An experiment with the indicator sachet at a controlled CO2 con-
centration showed a transparency reduction of more than 80%. This
enables the sachet to clearly indicate the presence of a certain CO2
concentration, but its calibration to correctly identify spoilage has not
yet been refined. The research on this particular project is not sufficient
for use in a commercial product but demonstrates the concept of a safe
freshness indicator based on natural components for potential use in the
packaging of fresh and processed meat. A fully bio degradable freshness
indicator on the basis of chitosan and anthocyanin has also recently
been developed (Yoshida, Maciel, Mendonça, & Franco, 2014). The
resulting intelligent film reflects the pH of its environment by changing
colour accordingly and could be used to signalize unacceptable quality
deterioration. Anthocyanin as a natural pH indicator reliably changes
colour from violet in basic, to bluish-green in neutral and pink in acidic
conditions without the formation of problematic by-products. Research
has shown the efficacy of natural anthocyanins, as for instance ex-
tracted from red cabbage, as pH indicators (Pereira Jr, de Arruda, &
Stefani, 2015). Commercialization of this indicator system would re-
quire some refining in order to be easily and unambiguously inter-
pretable by the consumer. The exclusive use of harmless and natural
components in these experiments reflects the general shift to a more
natural and sustainable future, which has also affected the development
of intelligent food packaging systems. Another approach of this kind
has been proposed by Liu et al. who have devised an intelligent bio-
degradable film which also possesses antimicrobial properties (Liu
et al., 2017). The film, based on starch and poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA),
contained anthocyanins extracted from purple sweet potatoes for pH
indication and limonene for antimicrobial effect. As with the previous
example, this film also changed colour depending on the surrounding
pH but was also capable of effectively suppressing the growth of Bacillus
subtilis, Aspergillus niger, and Staphylococcus aureus. The effectiveness of
anthocyanins from sweet potatoes as a natural pH indicator in-
corporated into a starch base matrix for use as a freshness indicator,
were confirmed by Choi et al. (Choi, Lee, Lacroix, & Han, 2017). This
recent development shows great promise for meat packaging applica-
tions, as it has the potential to both control as well as indicate microbial
spoilage while also being safe for human consumption and sustainably
producible. However, particularly visible freshness indicators face
barriers in their marketability and clear communication together with
customer education by companies is necessary to affect a modernization
of this kind. The viability of newly developed freshness indicators will
also heavily depend upon their reliability and safety as shortcomings in
these areas will easily deter manufacturers from introducing them into
their packaging systems (Kerry et al., 2006).
3.3.3. Gas sensors and radio frequency identification tags
Many different sensors with potential for the application in in-
telligent packaging systems have been proposed. The great majority of
concepts have proved either too expensive, imprecise, potentially ha-
zardous or otherwise unsuitable for use in food packaging, which ex-
plains their currently negligible commercialization (Mohebi & Marquez,
2015). Gas sensors are one of the groups with the best prospects for
practical application, as they can be produced relatively cheaply and
may reliably detect certain gasses, the concentrations of which often
correlate closely with the advance of spoilage. As meat spoilage is
commonly associated with the production of specific gasses, such as
CO2 or H2S, gas sensors may be used to effectively detect changes in
their concentrations within a package and trigger an indication of
spoilage if a critical limit is reached (Borchert, Kerry, & Papkovsky,
2013; Koskela et al., 2015). As part of the recent research trend towards
nano-materials and -technologies, various innovative nano-based gas
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
Fig. 2. Operating principle of WPI based CO2 indicator.
(Adapted from K. Lee and Ko (2014).)
Fig. 3. Schematic design of an intelligent packaging system consisting of a sensor and an RF receiver.
(Adapted from Nguyen et al. (2013).)
sensors with potential applications in the packaging of fresh and pro-
cessed meat products have also been developed. A novel approach by
Nguyen et al. may provide a cheap and non-toxic technology for CO2-
detection as part of an intelligent packaging system, well suited for
fresh and processed meat (Nguyen, Ta, Hoivik, Halvorsen, &
Aasmundtveit, 2013). Carbon nanotubes were integrated into a silicon
based circuit and were able to detect the CO2 concentration in the
surrounding atmosphere with moderate sensitivity. The precision of the
method is expected to be considerably improvable by modifying the
carbon nanotubes with metal oxide after production. For the purpose of
a practical use of this sensor, the gathered information on the CO2
concentration within the package, could be converted by a signal pro-
cessing unit and broadcast by way of a radio frequency (RF) tag, making
97
Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
it available to the manufacturer, retailer or customer (Kress-Rogers &
ALSTOM, 2001). Such a proposal for the combined use of a gas sensor
and an RFID system is outlined in Fig. 3 (Meng, Kim, Puligundla, & Ko,
2014).
Innovative electronic systems such as this have significant potential
for meat packaging systems of the future, as they are capable of re-
cognizing a wide variety of product defects, ranging from exceeded
temperature during distribution to the presence of critical levels of
spoilage-associated compounds within the package. The compromised
quality of a product, equipped with this technology, would auto-
matically trigger a response of the RFID tag, which in turn would flag
the package when scanned at checkout (LIN SEN, Kim, Shin, & Eom,
2013; Want, 2006). Although technically conceivable, this technology
B. Schumann, M. Schmid
would require significant initial investments and could only be eco-
nomically viable if introduced on a large scale, as the necessary com-
ponents would have to be mass produced.
4. Potential and weaknesses of novel approaches
Especially the development of novel packaging materials and active
packaging systems hold great potential for the beneficial use of natural
substances, such as polysaccharides and proteins, which have been
found to be suitable raw materials for the production of films, sheets
and coating. They are also often capable of enhancing the functionality
of natural and synthetic packaging materials by improving their barrier
properties, for instance in the case of whey protein, or by imparting
antimicrobial activity in the case of chitosan. Essential oils and natural
extracts have also been extensively examined for these purposes, often
compensating weaknesses of natural packaging materials by improving
their barrier properties towards water vapour or serving as natural
antimicrobial and antioxidant additives in a wide variety of packaging
materials. Migration or unwanted odour or flavour contributions are
possible, especially in the case of essential oils. Since the employed
natural compounds are usually safe for human consumption up to re-
latively high levels and a reduction of required concentrations is pos-
sible by combining different active packaging methods for synergistic
effects, this does not present an insurmountable barrier to their broad
application.
Good results have been achieved by combining essential oils with
active packaging technologies such as MAP. Resulting novel active MAP
for instance permits the use of high oxygen levels for the preservation of
colour in fresh meats, while still protecting the product from oxidative
processes through the presence of these natural antioxidants and as-
sisting in the suppression of microbial proliferation. The synergy effects
resulting from this combination have the potential to significantly ex-
tend the shelf life and improve the quality of a broad variety of meat
products. Also, a reduction of processing intensity or synthetic additives
through the use of natural compounds and synergy effects has the po-
tential to lower production costs while increasing product quality and
enabling the manufacture of “clean label” products (Tarté, 2009).
Nanomaterials may be used to achieve the same objectives and are
therefore also being investigated for their functional attributes.
Ongoing research in this area has produced good results, effectively
reducing oxidative or microbial spoilage while enabling a reduction of
additive concentration. Because of legal barriers and possible health
risks, more research will have to be conducted before specific additives
in nano form can be allowed for wide spread application. This is par-
ticularly important when these additives are in direct contact with or
incorporated into the product (Wyser et al., 2016). Commercial pro-
ducts must also be tested to establish migration levels of active com-
pounds, such as silver particles, out of functional packaging materials as
their implications on human health are not fully understood and their
unintentional consumption with the product should be minimized
(Pezzuto et al., 2015).
Similarly, microbial agents may have potential as effective tools for
the suppression of pathogens but regulatory issues and low consumer
acceptance may prevent their commercial use in the near future. Also,
technical details such as the efficacy of packaging-embedded bacter-
iophages and possible detrimental sensory effects caused by competi-
tive microorganisms must be addressed before these approaches can be
commercialized.
The category of corrective responsive packaging systems has been
omitted in this paper, due to the overwhelming dominance of other
active packaging solutions. As the latter provide protection of the
product from the beginning, without requiring specific triggers for ac-
tivation, and are considerably simpler to develop, the majority of cur-
rent research is concentrated on these more pragmatic approaches.
Efforts in the area of intelligent packaging are being made to create
more natural, non-hazardous systems for spoilage indication. If these
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Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100
are developed to a point at which they can be regarded as sufficiently
reliable, these systems may provide a cheap and safe alternative to
some of the synthetic systems which are currently available. As they
could more easily attain approval in highly regulated countries, such as
EU member states, broad application of devices like the whey-based
CO2 indicator may soon be possible. Due to the sensitivity of such
biological materials, additional research will be necessary to develop
easily usable, stable and reliable systems on their basis. TTIs which do
not have to be placed inside the package can avoid much of the ap-
proval problems faced by internally used devices as they do not come
into contact with the product. However, as they only offer a very lim-
ited indication of freshness when used on their own, novel indicator
systems, which use them in combination with other indicator technol-
ogies, show greater promise for practical application. Also, the use of
synthetic indicator systems may challenge existing recycling practices,
as already faced in the case of multilayer packaging. The latter issue has
already attracted the attention of researchers such as Fávaro et al., who
suggest the use of supercritical ethanol for the separation of multilayer
food packaging from PET and aluminum (Fávaro et al., 2013). In-
novations such as this will be a necessary consequence of the ubiquitous
use of synthetic indicators, but also of mixed packaging made from
biodegradable and recyclable materials as already explored by Cinelli
et al. (2016).
5. Conclusions and outlook
The key subjects of current packaging research for meat applications
can be divided into the groups of material development or optimization,
active and intelligent packaging approaches. The development of sus-
tainable, yet functional packaging materials is focused on the use of
natural materials, the bulk components of which should ideally be de-
rived from waste streams of the food industry for added efficiency.
Natural additives, such as essential oils or functional proteins, show
great potential to enhance the properties of bio based and synthetic
materials alike. Concerning active packaging, a trend towards the use of
combination approaches with several functional packaging elements
and a transition to the predominant use of natural additives is evident.
This category is well positioned to improve its effectiveness through the
use of combination methods such as novel active MAP, thereby moving
meat packaging one step closer to a reliably safe future. Therefore,
active packaging represents the area with the greatest potential for
quality and safety improvements in the category of fresh and processed
meat, which is inherently problematic with regard to microbial spoilage
and shelf life. Intelligent packaging may also play a vital role in the
future by allowing the retailer and consumer to monitor the product
conditions and prevent the sale or consumption of spoiled meat. Active
packaging solutions cannot be relied upon to guarantee optimal product
quality, partly due to potential abuse or packaging failure. Intelligent
packaging solutions could provide the needed support to identify fail-
ures, thereby compensating the shortcomings of constantly improving
protective packaging elements. Improving established methods like
MAP with the use of natural substances or nanomaterials and experi-
menting with bio based or intelligent packaging systems are small steps
in the gradual evolution of meat packaging systems. Fang et al. have
stated in a review paper that due to the complexity and diversity of the
challenges facing the meat packaging technology of today, “a multi-
disciplinary approach involving researchers from different disciplines
(e.g. meat science, microbiology, and material science) working to-
gether with the packaging industry is necessary”(Fang, Zhao, Warner, &
Johnson, 2017). A revolution in this area seems unlikely, as it would be
quickly hampered by regulatory restrictions and a possible decline of
consumer acceptance. Recently devised bio based indicators and
packaging materials, together with active compounds such as essential
oils, may soon enable the development of an entirely biodegradable,
active and intelligent packaging system, which may exceed in func-
tionality many of the conventional systems in existence today.
B. Schumann, M. Schmid Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies 47 (2018) 88–100

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