Cereal and Confectionary Packaging: Background, Application and Shelf-Life Extension
Anna-Sophia Bauer,
Kärt Leppik,
Kata Galić,
Ioannis Anestopoulos,
Mihalis I. Panayiotidis,
Sofia Agriopoulou,
Maria Milousi,
Ilke Uysal-Unalan,
Theodoros Varzakas,
Victoria Krauter
Affiliations
Anna-Sophia Bauer
Packaging and Resource Management, Department Applied Life Sciences, FH Campus Wien, 1030 Vienna, Austria
Kärt Leppik
Center of Food and Fermentation Technologies, Akadeemia tee 15a, 12618 Tallinn, Estonia
Kata Galić
Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, HR10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Ioannis Anestopoulos
Department of Cancer Genetics, Therapeutics & Ultrastructural Pathology, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics, AyiosDometios, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
Mihalis I. Panayiotidis
Department of Cancer Genetics, Therapeutics & Ultrastructural Pathology, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics, AyiosDometios, Nicosia 2371, Cyprus
Sofia Agriopoulou
Department of Food Science and Technology, University of the Peloponnese, Antikalamos, 24100 Kalamata, Greece
Maria Milousi
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Western Macedonia, 50100 Kozani, Greece
Ilke Uysal-Unalan
Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Agro Food Park 48, 8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Theodoros Varzakas
Department of Food Science and Technology, University of the Peloponnese, Antikalamos, 24100 Kalamata, Greece
Victoria Krauter
Packaging and Resource Management, Department Applied Life Sciences, FH Campus Wien, 1030 Vienna, Austria
In both public and private sectors, one can notice a strong interest in the topic of sustainable food and packaging. For a long time, the spotlight for optimization was placed on well-known examples of high environmental impacts, whether regarding indirect resource use (e.g., meat, dairy) or problems in waste management. Staple and hedonistic foods such as cereals and confectionary have gained less attention. However, these products and their packaging solutions are likewise of worldwide ecologic and economic relevance, accounting for high resource input, production amounts, as well as food losses and waste. This review provides a profound elaboration of the status quo in cereal and confectionary packaging, essential for practitioners to improve sustainability in the sector. Here, we present packaging functions and properties along with related product characteristics and decay mechanisms in the subcategories of cereals and cereal products, confectionary and bakery wares alongside ready-to-eat savories and snacks. Moreover, we offer an overview to formerly and recently used packaging concepts as well as established and modern shelf-life extending technologies, expanding upon our knowledge to thoroughly understand the packaging’s purpose; we conclude that a comparison of the environmental burden share between product and packaging is necessary to properly derive the need for action(s), such as packaging redesign.
