Sustainable biomacromolecules revolutionizing intelligent food packaging: State-of-the-art review

Abstract

Transformative innovations in food packaging technologies are of strategic importance in ensuring global food security while advancing environmentally sustainable solutions. Intelligent packaging systems that integrate sensing capabilities with conventional packaging enable real-time quality monitoring of food through smart communication functionalities. These systems, particularly those incorporating biodegradable biomacromolecular composite films, demonstrate significant potential for enabling circular economic models in food preservation technologies. Strategic incorporation of phytochemicals (plant essential oils, natural pigments) and nanoparticles has been shown to synergistically enhance key performance characteristics including antimicrobial activity, antioxidant ability, mechanical strength, and stimulus-responsive behaviors. This review systematically evaluates recent advancements in biomacromolecule-based intelligent packaging, addressing critical gaps in current literature regarding functional dimensionality, material diversity, and temporal relevance. Our analysis encompasses functionalization typology of intelligent packaging, evaluation of material properties, film-forming substrates and functional mechanisms, performance enhancement through functional integration, and food preservation applications. We further present critical assessments of sustainability and circular economic potential of IPSs while identifying persistent technical barriers and outlining future research trajectories. The ultimate objective of this work is to accelerate the industrial adoption of bio-based intelligent packaging solutions, thereby enabling their wide spread implementation across food supply chains and contributing to the construction of sustainable food packaging systems.

Keywords: Biomacromolecule; Circular economy; Food preservation; Intelligent packaging; Sustainability.