Sustainability of food packaging

Food packaging preserves food safety and ensures food quality throughout the supply chain. Both can be achieved by the shielding function of the packaging against negative ambient influences such as mechanical damage, light, or water vapor. Material, form, and packaging concepts vary widely, which thus also differentiates the environmental impact of packaging. There is broad consent on the definition of sustainable packaging, which has to be effective, efficient, and safe for human health and the environment. Renewable sources have gained importance and biologically originated resources are one of the main alternatives for new applications in packaging. This chapter provides an overview of the sustainability of food packaging, the role of various biological/renewable materials in packaging, the current market scenario, and sustainable ecosystem management with the new adoption of advanced packaging materials. We provide an overview of sustainable food packaging advancements via life cycle assessment (LCA) to aid researchers and industries in working towards sustainable food packaging.