Brasil Pack Trends 2020

BrasilPackTrends2020 143 qual ity and new technologies 6.1 ACTIVE PACKAGES Active packages and intelligent packages are associated, hence they are called smart packages, though they are conceptually different. The term “active packages” refers to a series of technologies in which the package interacts directly with the product or through the package headspace, in order to assure the quality and safety or to increase the shelf life of foods and pharmaceuticals. They are basically divided in two groups: those ones that absorb harmful compounds to the packed product and those ones that emit compounds that improve the properties and/or increase the shelf life of the product. The active packages include oxygen absorbers which aim to protect the product against oxidative degradation reaction, that causes the loss of sensorial properties (such as flavor, color and odor), and against the loss of active principles in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals; CO 2 absorbers for roasted and ground coffee, minimizing the package blowing; ethylene absorbers for fresh fruits, slowing down the ripening; moisture absorbers/controllers to protect products against humidification; off odor absorbers; cholesterol absorbers etc.. Among the active packages, the highest application volumes are in moisture and oxygen absorbers. The inverse function of emitters also increases the stability and assures the quality of many products. Examples of this category of active package are antioxidant compounds emitters, ethanol emitters with anti-mold properties, CO 2 emitters with antimicrobial action (fungistatic and bacteriostatic) and SO 2 emitters acting on certain fungi. Related to those antimicrobial packages there are also films with ionic silver incorporation. The ultimate emitter-active packages are also known as Controlled Release Packaging – CRP, which means that they release, in a controlled manner, during storage, active compounds such as antimicrobial agents, antioxidants, flavor enhancers, enzymes, nutraceuticals compounds and others. The incorporation of metals (zinc and magnesium) to preserve color, of enzymes blockers, antiadherente packages, and many other functionalities can also be classified as active packages, lots of them produced based in nanotechnologies. The modified atmosphere packages are traditionally considered as active packages. The early active packages were focused on incorporating the active agent in sachets. Nowadays, the focus have been either on the incorporation or the immobilization of the active agent in the package material itself (mono or multilayer), in caps, corks, liners and labels. This is a way to maximize the active package efficiency and minimize problems related to the inclusion of a foreign item inside the package, which may lead the customer to a misinterpretation and may prejudice the production line. The technological advancements in active packages are limited by legal barriers concerning the food safety. Active compounds need to be registered on positive lists and the total and specific migration limits must be respected. Though, as the legal requirements are being fulfilled, the companies are beginning to quantify the economic advantages of the active technology usage, and the consumers realized the quality and/or safety improvement, it is very likely that the active packages will become an important technology for food and beverage preservation. The residual oxygen inside the package is chemical and biological-active for the degradation of foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, agrochemicals etc. Therefore the conventional use of passive barrier package associated to the nitrogen gas flushing, vacuum or modified atmosphere was complemented by the active package with oxygen absorbers. The oxygen absorbers are able to reduce the Oxygen Absorbers