Influence of cold plasma technology on food packaging materials: A review

Abstract

In the past cold plasma technology has found wide applications in material processing and it finds widespread applications in food industries as a novel technology. Cold plasma was originally developed for usage in electronics along with improving various functional properties like printing and adhesion properties of polymers. When the ionized gas is released on the polymer, effects of ablation, cross linking and activation are produced on its surface, which results in enhancing surface energy and hence improvement of various functional properties like adhesiveness, prinitibility and wettability of polymers Furthermore, cold plasma has resulted into surface decontamination of the packaging materials and improved barrier properties of polymer. New trends aim to provide antimicrobial surface and thus set up active packaging. The present review provides an overview of principles of action of cold plasma technology, equipment and summarises recent advances in the modification of polymeric food packaging materials.