Development of low density polymer films for smart packaging

Abstract

The quality of food products throughout their shelf life changes as they are perishable by nature. Moreover, consumers increasingly demand for more convenient products with a lower degree of processing and presenting fresh features with high quality. Intelligent packaging is a new concept that can be used as a tool to monitor and report a quality attribute of a product from its distribution at the point of sale to the final consumer. In this research project the development of interactive polymers from the modified (post-reactor) linear low density polyethylene is proposed for application as an intelligent packaging. By incorporating natural additives, the material to be developed shall change some attribute (ex. color) as a result of changing a product quality attribute. In this project the technological challenge to be overcome is the application of the extrusion process (used widely in the packaging industry) to produce nanocomposites with heat sensitive components. (AU)