Packaging is an indispensable vehicle to deliver products to consumers. Innovation in food packaging material and packaging technology is governed by increase in consumer demand for minimally processed foods. In India the per capita consumption of packaging material is 8.6kg/person/annum and still to be increased in the future. Various methodologies of packaging technology for dairy products have developed over the years. New concepts of active packaging, intelligent packaging and nanotechnology offers innovative solutions which plays an important role for improving or monitoring food quality & safety and extending shelf-life. In this paper the latest packaging materials, machines and technologies used in the dairy industry for packaging of dairy products and their effect on increase in shelf life are discussed. Also, the demand of sustainable packaging materials usage in the dairy industry and importance of nanotechnology in packaging and safety of dairy products are discussed.
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