Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Plastics in Food Packaging: Trends, Innovations and Environmental Impact

This review surveys the landscape of plastic food packaging — from conventional polyethylene and PET to emerging smart and biodegradable materials — examining how plastics protect food, how they degrade into microplastics, and how innovators are responding to mounting environmental pressure. It covers advanced technologies like nanomaterial-based packaging, active systems that extend shelf life, and IoT-enabled smart packaging. The paper contextualizes microplastic pollution as a growing concern driving the packaging industry toward bio-based and circular alternatives.

2025 Annual Research & Review in Biology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-Based Smart Materials for Food Packaging and Sensors – A Review

This review examined bio-based smart packaging materials that combine sustainability with real-time food quality monitoring through integrated sensors. Researchers explored how biodegradable and renewable packaging materials with embedded bio-based sensors could help reduce food waste, increase shelf life, and decrease reliance on conventional petroleum-based plastics in the food industry.

2020 Frontiers in Materials 180 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable and Bio-Based Food Packaging: A Review on Past and Current Design Innovations

This review covers innovations in food packaging materials, including bio-based and biodegradable options, smart sensors that detect spoilage, and active packaging that extends shelf life. Understanding packaging alternatives is relevant to microplastic concerns because conventional plastic packaging is a major source of micro- and nanoplastic contamination in food.

2023 Foods 318 citations
Article Tier 2

Biopolymer-based solutions for enhanced safety and quality assurance: A review

Researchers review how biopolymers are replacing petroleum-based plastics across the food industry, covering antimicrobial packaging, edible coatings, bioactive encapsulation, and smart polymer functions such as pH sensing and time-temperature monitoring that reduce food waste and microplastic pollution.

2024 Food Research International 28 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review on Replacing Food Packaging Plastics with Nature-Inspired Bio-Based Materials

Researchers reviewed bio-based materials inspired by nature as sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based food packaging plastics. The study highlights that while conventional plastic packaging is effective for food preservation, its environmental impact has driven research into biodegradable and compostable alternatives that could reduce plastic waste and microplastic generation.

2025 Foods 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable Smart Packaging: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Combat Plastic Pollution

This review examines biodegradable smart packaging as a cross-disciplinary solution to plastic pollution, discussing materials such as polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, and starch-based composites, and exploring how intelligent functionalities can be integrated into environmentally friendly packaging alternatives to replace the 300 million tons of plastic produced annually.

2025 International Journal of Recent Innovations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable and edible film: A counter to plastic pollution

This paper reviews biodegradable and edible films as alternatives to conventional plastic packaging in the food industry, which contributes a major share of global plastic waste. While not a complete solution, these alternative materials could meaningfully reduce plastic pollution if adopted more widely in food packaging applications.

2020 International Journal of Chemical Studies 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of sago-based edible plastic as primary packaging for instant food products

Researchers developed a sago-based edible plastic as primary packaging for instant food products as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics that contribute to microplastic pollution. The bio-based packaging was designed to be safe for food contact and to reduce the accumulation of persistent plastic waste in ecosystems.

2025 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science
Article Tier 2

The future of plastic

Researchers examine whether biodegradable polymers can solve plastic's environmental crisis, noting that while plastic is enormously useful, society's heavy reliance on it has created a global pollution problem that biodegradable alternatives alone are unlikely to fully resolve.

2018 Nature Communications 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Technologies for Converting Mixed Plastic Waste into Biodegradable Polymers

Scientists are developing new ways to turn mixed plastic waste (like food containers and shopping bags) into biodegradable materials that naturally break down instead of polluting the environment. This research review summarizes promising techniques that could help reduce the microplastics that end up in our food and water. If these methods can be made affordable and used widely, they could significantly cut plastic pollution and the health risks it poses to humans.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Edible Bioplastic Films Prevent Transpiration

Researchers developed edible bioplastic films designed to prevent transpiration in harvested fruits and vegetables, addressing postharvest spoilage which contributes to global food waste affecting roughly one-third of all food produced.

2025 Advanced Sustainable Systems
Article Tier 2

Application of Nanotechnology in Sustainable Food Packaging

This review examines nanotechnology applications in sustainable food packaging, covering how nano-enhanced biodegradable biopolymers improve barrier properties and food safety while addressing plastic pollution and reducing reliance on conventional single-use plastics.

2024 Advances in environmental engineering and green technologies book series 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable biopolymers for active packaging: demand, development and directions

This review examines how biodegradable biopolymers can be used for active food packaging, addressing both plastic waste and food waste challenges while meeting industry demand for sustainable packaging solutions.

2022 Sustainable Food Technology 172 citations
Article Tier 2

Design of new biopolymers for biomedicine and food-packaging

Researchers review new biopolymer designs intended for biomedical and food packaging applications, aiming to replace fossil-fuel-based plastics with biodegradable alternatives from renewable sources. Widespread adoption of such materials could significantly reduce long-term microplastic pollution.

2019 AMS Dottorato Institutional Doctoral Theses Repository (University of Bologna) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable Packaging : a Key to Environmental Sustainability

This paper reviews biodegradable packaging alternatives to conventional plastics, arguing that plant-based materials can reduce microplastic pollution in oceans, soil, and food systems. The authors survey available materials and manufacturing methods as part of a broader case for environmental sustainability.

2024 International Association of Biologicals and Computational Digest
Article Tier 2

Materials

This paper reviews advances in nanocomposite and biopolymer-based food packaging materials, noting that microplastic pollution has been detected globally and is a recognized threat to ecosystem and human health. It briefly contextualises microplastics as a motivation for developing biodegradable packaging alternatives, though the primary focus is materials science rather than microplastics research per se.

2023
Review Tier 2

Current trends in biopolymers for food packaging: a review

This review covers the latest developments in biopolymer-based food packaging, including biodegradable films, edible coatings, and active or smart packaging systems. Researchers found that while these sustainable alternatives show promise, they still face challenges in matching the moisture, heat, and barrier properties of conventional petroleum-based plastics. The study highlights ongoing efforts to improve these materials so they can realistically replace traditional plastic packaging.

2023 Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 130 citations
Article Tier 2

Advancements in the biopolymer films for food packaging applications: a short review

This review covers advances in biodegradable biopolymer films being developed to replace conventional plastic food packaging, which breaks down into microplastics that contaminate soil and water. While these plant-based alternatives show promise for reducing microplastic pollution, they still need improvements in strength and durability before they can compete with conventional plastics at commercial scale.

2024 Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Bio-based and Sustainable Food Packaging Technology: Relevance, Challenges and Prospects

A review assessed bio-based and sustainable food packaging technologies, evaluating their relevance as replacements for conventional plastic packaging that generates microplastic pollution. The study identifies the most promising materials and the barriers to scaling up plastic-free food packaging.

2025 Journal of Biomaterials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

An Antibacterial and Antioxidant Food Packaging Film Based on Amphiphilic Polypeptides‐Resveratrol‐Chitosan

Researchers developed a biodegradable food packaging film made from natural materials including chitosan and resveratrol that kills bacteria and prevents food spoilage. Unlike conventional plastic packaging that breaks down into microplastics, this film is made entirely from biological materials and poses no microplastic contamination risk. This type of eco-friendly alternative could help reduce the microplastics that enter the food supply through traditional plastic packaging.

2024 Small 10 citations
Article Tier 2

A new approach to food packaging, a recycling assessment using in vitro strategies

Researchers evaluated new sustainable food packaging materials for their potential to release microplastics into food, using in vitro digestion strategies to assess exposure. The study found that even recycled and bio-based packaging materials can shed particles under digestive conditions.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Edible plastics: feasibility and challenges of solving environmental pollution problems

This review examines the feasibility and challenges of edible plastics as biodegradable alternatives to conventional plastic packaging in addressing marine plastic pollution. It surveys available edible and bio-based materials, outlines strategic recommendations for scaling sustainable alternatives, and identifies key technical and regulatory hurdles to broader adoption.

2025 Environment and Climate Protection
Article Tier 2

Emerging Technologies for Converting Mixed Plastic Waste into Biodegradable Polymers

Scientists are developing new ways to turn mixed plastic waste (like food containers and shopping bags all jumbled together) into materials that naturally break down in the environment, instead of lasting forever like regular plastic. This research review shows these emerging technologies could help solve our plastic pollution problem by preventing more microplastics from forming and contaminating our food and water. If these methods can be scaled up, they could transform how we handle plastic waste and reduce health risks from tiny plastic particles that are increasingly found in our bodies.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The role of sustainable packaging in reducing environmental pollution

This review examines how sustainable packaging — using biodegradable materials, reducing excess packaging, and improving recyclability — can reduce environmental pollution. The paper evaluates different sustainable packaging strategies and their effectiveness at reducing plastic waste, which is the primary source of microplastic pollution.

2023 International Journal of Geography Geology and Environment 1 citations