A Review of Packaging Innovations for Food Waste Reduction through Life Cycle Assessment

Food waste represents a critical global issue: part of the world's population is undernourished because they do not receive adequate nutrition, while in developed countries the opposite situation occurs, food is wasted due to overproduction or mismanagement by consumers. Packaging plays a key role in all this, as its main functions include product containment and protection, handling, and communication. To tackle this problem, innovative solutions are needed that address waste throughout the supply chain, from production to consumption. Some promising approaches are developing innovative packaging technologies and packaging materials. Smart and sustainable packaging can increase the shelf life of perishable products, reduce spoilage, and provide consumers with real-time information on the freshness of food; also, the scrap from food industry processing can be used as new packaging material. The actual sustainability of these solutions can be measured through the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, which is a method of analysis capable of quantifying the environmental impacts generated by a product during its entire life cycle. This review aims to investigate how different packaging solutions can influence food waste reduction and, consequently, improve overall environmental sustainability.