1. Introduction
Food packaging systems have been traditionally considered as simple containers to transport food from the place where they have been produced to the retail outlet and then to the consumer with no alteration of the food nutritional and organoleptic characteristics. Nevertheless, these systems are often
unable to increase the shelf-life of fresh food resulting in a problem to producers, retailers and
consumers. Since the main function of packaging is preservation of food from external contamination,
other important features such as retardation of deterioration, extension of shelf-life, protection from
transport impacts and maintenance of the food quality should be taken into account. Packaging materials
should protect food from environmental influences such as heat, moisture, oxygen, enzymes, loss of
aromas and unpleasant odor components, as well as from the attack from micro and macro-organisms.
Furthermore, the global market is becoming more demanding and is continuously in need of novel and
stable products which, at the same time, could retain the natural properties of food. In summary, the
demand for new packaging materials and food packaging functionalities is increasing.