New Active and Intelligent Packaging Technologies to Increase the Shelf life of Meat Products
Document Type : Review Articles
Authors
Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
Abstract
Meat products are highly susceptible to microbial spoilage, oxidation, and quality deterioration because their biological structure is rich in protein, fat, and moisture. Traditional packaging, which serves only a passive protective role, is often inadequate and contributes to signi cant food waste. In recent years, active and intelligent packaging technologies have emerged as novel approaches to extend shelf life and enhance food safety. Smart packaging technology aims to communicate data regarding the administration and historical storage of food goods to elevate product quality and align with consumer expectations. Meat is a highly perishable food that can cause serious illness if spoiled. Various indicators and sensors have been developed to alert about meat spoilage in the industry. Intelligent packaging systems (IPSs) give consumers real-time information and indicate product status. This review article, based on research up to 2025, examines active packaging systems including antimicrobial, antioxidant, and oxygen-scavenging agents and intelligent systems such as gas sensors, time{temperature indicators, and Radio Frequency Identi cation (RFID). The application of these technologies to meat products, including red meat, poultry, and processed items, with focus on case studies, shows shelf life increases of 20{50%. This technology has great potential to become a standard tool in meat quality control and could create a promising future for the industry.
Keywords
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[2] Abekoon T, Buthpitiya BL, Sajindra H, Sama-
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intelligent packaging for meat with insight from
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Nutritions, and Culinary Journal. 2025 Oct 9:201-
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composite lm packaging on refrigerated beef loin
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Non-iron oxygen scavengers in food packaging:
mechanisms, applications, and the shift towards
green alternatives. Sustainable Food Technology.
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active materials for food packaging and their ap-
plication. Foods. 2023 Nov 7;12(22):4055.
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telligent packaging for meat products: A system-
atic review. Veterinary Medicine and Science. 2023
Jan;9(1):481-93.
[12] Koneti PB, Raziuddin M, Devangare A. Advances
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Meat Science. 2023 Jun.
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tive food packaging system for raw meatloaf. Jour-
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[14] Lohita B, Srijaya M. Novel technologies for shelf-
life extension of food products as a competitive
advantage: A review. Food production, diversity,
and safety under climate change. 2024 Apr 2:285-
306.
[15] Mazaheri M, Mahmoudi Meymand M. A review of
smart and active packaging in the food industry.
Nesha Alam. 2024. 13(2), 47-54. (In Persia)
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vances in the fabrication of intelligent packaging
for food preservation: a review. Processes. 2025
Feb 14;13(2):539.
[17] Mohebi E, Marquez L. Intelligent packaging in
meat industry: An overview of existing solu-
tions. Journal of food science and technology. 2015
Jul;52(7):3947-64.
[18] Pourhamzeh S. Novel Trends in the Packaging of
Meat and Meat Products. Packaging science and
art. 2021 Aug 23;12(46):1-8.
[19] Puebla-Duarte AL, Santos-Sauceda I, Rodrguez-
Felix F, Iturralde-Garca RD, Fernandez-Quiroz
D, Perez-Cabral ID, Del-Toro-Sanchez CL. Ac-
tive and intelligent packaging: A review of the
possible application of cyclodextrins in food stor-
age and safety indicators. Polymers. 2023 Nov
3;15(21):4317.
[20] Dirpan A, Djalal M, Kamaruddin I. Application
of an intelligent sensor and active packaging sys-
tem based on the bacterial cellulose of Acetobac-
ter xylinum to meat products. Sensors. 2022 Jan
11;22(2):544.
[21] Sani MA, Zhang W, Abedini A, Khezerlou A,
Shariatifar N, Assadpour E, Zhang F, Jafari SM.
Intelligent packaging systems for the quality and
safety monitoring of meat products: From lab
scale to industrialization. Food Control. 2024 Jun
1;160: 110359.
[22] Zhang J, Zhang J, Zhang L, Qin Z, Wang T. Re-
view of Recent Advances in Intelligent and An-
tibacterial Packaging for Meat Quality and Safety.
Foods. 2025 Mar 26;14(7):1157.
[23] Zouharova A, Bartakova K, Bursova S, Necidova
L, Harustiakova D, Klimesova M, Vorlova L. Meat
and sh packaging and its impact on the shelf
life{a review. Acta Veterinaria Brno. 2023 Feb
2;92(1):95-108.
aging: Insights in novel food packaging. Frontiers
in Microbiology. 2021 Jul 9;12: 657233.
[2] Abekoon T, Buthpitiya BL, Sajindra H, Sama-
rakoon ER, Jayakody JA, Kantamaneni K, Rath-
nayake U. A comprehensive review to evaluate the
synergy of intelligent food packaging with mod-
ern food technology and arti cial intelligence eld.
Discover Sustainability. 2024 Jul 22;5(1):160.
[3] Lanza G, Perez-Taborda JA, Avila A. Improving
Temperature Adaptation for Food Safety: Colori-
metric Nanoparticle-Based TimeTemperature In-
dicators (TTIs) to Detect Cumulative Tempera-
ture Disturbances. Foods. 2025 Feb 22;14(5):742.
[4] Biji KB, Ravishankar CN, Mohan CO, Srinivasa
Gopal TK. Smart packaging systems for food ap-
plications: a review. Journal of food science and
technology. 2015 Oct;52(10):6125-35.
[5] Hakeem MJ, Feng J, Nilghaz A, Ma L, Seah
HC, Konkel ME, Lu X. Active packaging of
immobilized zinc oxide nanoparticles controls
Campylobacter jejuni in raw chicken meat. Ap-
plied and environmental microbiology. 2020 Oct
28;86(22):e01195-20.
[6] Hidayat SH, Novrain AY, Irwan I. A decade of
intelligent packaging for meat with insight from
smart packaging literature: Trends, innovations,
and future prospects-a systematic review and net-
work analysis. Canrea Journal: Food Technology,
Nutritions, and Culinary Journal. 2025 Oct 9:201-
35.
[7] Hong SI, Cho Y, Rhim JW. Effect of agar/AgNP
composite lm packaging on refrigerated beef loin
quality. Membranes. 2021 Sep 29;11(10):750.
Avicenna Veterinary Research/ Vol. 1, No. 4, Winter 2025 27
[8] Ivanov A, Buruiana DL, Trus C, Ghisman
V, Vasile Antoniac I. Nanomaterials for Sen-
sory SystemsA Review. Biosensors. 2025 Nov
11;15(11):754.
[9] Jain P, Meshram BP, Singh S, Gaikwad KK.
Non-iron oxygen scavengers in food packaging:
mechanisms, applications, and the shift towards
green alternatives. Sustainable Food Technology.
2025;3(6):1668-80.
[10] Jiang Y, Zhang Y, Deng Y. Latest advances in
active materials for food packaging and their ap-
plication. Foods. 2023 Nov 7;12(22):4055.
[11] Khodaei SM, GholamiAhangaran M, Karimi Sani
I, Esfandiari Z, Eghbaljoo H. Application of in-
telligent packaging for meat products: A system-
atic review. Veterinary Medicine and Science. 2023
Jan;9(1):481-93.
[12] Koneti PB, Raziuddin M, Devangare A. Advances
in Intelligent Food Packaging of Meat. Journal of
Meat Science. 2023 Jun.
[13] Lee JS, Chang Y, Lee ES, Song HG, Chang PS,
Han J. Ascorbic acidbased oxygen scavenger in ac-
tive food packaging system for raw meatloaf. Jour-
nal of food science. 2018 Mar;83(3):682-8.
[14] Lohita B, Srijaya M. Novel technologies for shelf-
life extension of food products as a competitive
advantage: A review. Food production, diversity,
and safety under climate change. 2024 Apr 2:285-
306.
[15] Mazaheri M, Mahmoudi Meymand M. A review of
smart and active packaging in the food industry.
Nesha Alam. 2024. 13(2), 47-54. (In Persia)
[16] Mkhari T, Adeyemi JO, Fawole OA. Recent ad-
vances in the fabrication of intelligent packaging
for food preservation: a review. Processes. 2025
Feb 14;13(2):539.
[17] Mohebi E, Marquez L. Intelligent packaging in
meat industry: An overview of existing solu-
tions. Journal of food science and technology. 2015
Jul;52(7):3947-64.
[18] Pourhamzeh S. Novel Trends in the Packaging of
Meat and Meat Products. Packaging science and
art. 2021 Aug 23;12(46):1-8.
[19] Puebla-Duarte AL, Santos-Sauceda I, Rodrguez-
Felix F, Iturralde-Garca RD, Fernandez-Quiroz
D, Perez-Cabral ID, Del-Toro-Sanchez CL. Ac-
tive and intelligent packaging: A review of the
possible application of cyclodextrins in food stor-
age and safety indicators. Polymers. 2023 Nov
3;15(21):4317.
[20] Dirpan A, Djalal M, Kamaruddin I. Application
of an intelligent sensor and active packaging sys-
tem based on the bacterial cellulose of Acetobac-
ter xylinum to meat products. Sensors. 2022 Jan
11;22(2):544.
[21] Sani MA, Zhang W, Abedini A, Khezerlou A,
Shariatifar N, Assadpour E, Zhang F, Jafari SM.
Intelligent packaging systems for the quality and
safety monitoring of meat products: From lab
scale to industrialization. Food Control. 2024 Jun
1;160: 110359.
[22] Zhang J, Zhang J, Zhang L, Qin Z, Wang T. Re-
view of Recent Advances in Intelligent and An-
tibacterial Packaging for Meat Quality and Safety.
Foods. 2025 Mar 26;14(7):1157.
[23] Zouharova A, Bartakova K, Bursova S, Necidova
L, Harustiakova D, Klimesova M, Vorlova L. Meat
and sh packaging and its impact on the shelf
life{a review. Acta Veterinaria Brno. 2023 Feb
2;92(1):95-108.
)