Packaging perspective of milk and dairy products

Metode pakiranja mliječnih proizvoda neprekidno se razvijaju u skladu s razvojem ambalažnih materijala, te u skladu sa zahtjevima potrošača. Cilj ovog preglednog rada je pružiti uvid u trenutno dostupne nove metode pakiranja mliječnih proizvoda. Pakiranje u modificiranoj atmosferi (MAP) prvenstveno se primjenjuje u sirarstvu. Uporaba jestivih pakiranja značajno je smanjila uobičajeni utrošak ambalažnog materijala za pakiranje sira. Nanomaterijali i aktivno pakiranje mogu se primijeniti u svrhu produljenja roka valjanosti bilo smanjenjem propusnosti materijala ili smanjenjem pojave nepoželjnih senzorskih svojstava mliječnih proizvoda i time utjecati na produljenje njihove kvalitete. U aktivno pakiranje ubrajaju se primjerice izračivači kisika, apsorberi ugljikova dioksida, regulatori vlage/okusa/mirisa, antioksidansi i/ili drugi konzervansi, održavanje nadzora nad temperaturom i/ili kompenziranje temperaturnih promjena, antimikrobno pakiranje, itd. Antimikrobno pakiranje privlači sve više pažnje kako znanstvenika tako i industrije budući da istovremeno omogućava održavanje kvalitete i zdravstvene ispravnosti proizvoda. S ekološkog aspekta najzanimljivijim se smatra pakiranje u biorazgradljivu ambalažu. Glavni izazovi za takve materijale su omogućiti osiguravanje čvrstoće i integriteta pakovine u odnosu na trajnost proizvoda.Packaging of dairy products develops continuously along with advances in material technologies, which are in turn a response to demands of consumers. This article aimed to give an overview of currently available dairy packaging systems. Novel dairy packaging systems include new packaging technologies such as the modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) that is widely used nowadays, especially for dairy product like cheese. Application of edible packaging could significantly reduce the costs of cheese packaging by reducing the amount of usually required packaging material. Nanomaterials and active packaging might be useful for extending the shelf life of dairy products by reducing material permeability or negative sensory characteristics of batch processing. Forms of active packaging relevant to dairy foods include oxygen scavenging, carbon dioxide absorbers, moisture and/or flavour/odour taints absorbers; releasing compounds (carbon dioxide, ethanol, antioxidants and/or other preservatives); maintaining temperature control and/or compensating temperature changes and antimicrobial packaging. Antimicrobial packaging is gaining interest from packaging scientists and industry due to its potential for providing quality and their safety benefits. The greatest challenge from the ecological point of view is biodegradable packaging. The main challenges for low waste materials are the durability of the packaging correlated with product shelf life as well as the ecological perspective