The traditional role of food packaging is continuing to evolve in response to changing market needs. Current drivers such as consumer's demand for safer, "healthier," and higher-quality foods, ideally with a long shelf-life; the demand for convenient and transparent packaging, and the preference for more sustainable packaging materials, have led to the development of new packaging technologies, such as active packaging (AP). As defined in the European regulation (EC) No 450/2009, AP systems are designed to "deliberately incorporate components that would release or absorb substances into or from the packaged food or the environment surrounding the food." Active packaging materials are thereby "intended to extend the shelf-life or to maintain or improve the condition of packaged food." Although extensive research on AP technologies is being undertaken, many of these technologies have not yet been implemented successfully in commercial food packaging systems. Broad communication of their benefits in food product applications will facilitate the successful development and market introduction. In this review, an overview of AP technologies, such as antimicrobial, antioxidant or carbon dioxide-releasing systems, and systems absorbing oxygen, moisture or ethylene, is provided, and, in particular, scientific publications illustrating the benefits of such technologies for specific food products are reviewed. Furthermore, the challenges in applying such AP technologies to food systems and the anticipated direction of future developments are discussed. This review will provide food and packaging scientists with a thorough understanding of the benefits of AP technologies when applied to specific foods and hence can assist in accelerating commercial adoption.

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Oxygen scavenging films based on vacuum deposited palladium layers were developed to remove residual oxygen remaining in food packages after modified atmosphere packaging. Palladium (Pd) was coated on to a range of packaging films and in different thicknesses using magnetron sputtering technology. To improve the substrate surface, an additional silicon oxide (SiO x ) layer was also applied to the films before Pd deposition. To determine the oxygen scavenging activity, the scavenger films were placed into an airtight cell, which was flushed with a gas mixture containing 2 vol.% oxygen and 5 vol.% hydrogen. The results showed that the oxygen scavenging rate was strongly dependent on the coating substrate as well as on the Pd deposition thickness. Packaging films such as polyethylene terephthalate, aluminium oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate, oriented polypropylene and polylactic acid were found to be the most suitable substrates for Pd-based oxygen scavengers. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the intermediate SiO x layer between the substrate and the Pd layer led to a substantial increase in the oxygen scavenging activity rate (up to 33-fold) for all applied packaging films. Additionally, it was shown that the optimal Pd layer thickness for the investigated oxygen scavenging films lies between 0.7 and 3.4 nm. The resulting scavenger films have the potential to scavenge residual headspace oxygen of sensitive foods within a matter of minutes leading to shelf life extension and overall quality improvements.