Traditionally, food and beverage packaging has delayed the adverse effects of the environment on the products it contains. However, current research trends include the development of packaging materials that interact with the environment and food, which play an active role in preservation; active packaging is primarily designed for shelf life. Improve safety or enhance the sensory properties of foods and beverages.

Smart packaging includes time-temperature, gas atmosphere, microbial growth and pathogen detection for quality control of packaged foods. In the United States, active, controlled, and intelligent packaging systems have experienced explosive growth. As of 2008, countries outside the United States as leaders have an average annual growth rate of 11.3%. In the past decade, positive packaging has experienced significant growth and changes as innovation has challenged the status quo of traditional food and beverage packaging.

The food polymer package can be used as a reservoir or substrate from which the active ingredient is delivered to the product in a controlled manner. Controlled release of active ingredients is such an innovation that can be categorized in the field of active packaging. Antibacterial preservative release agents, antioxidant release agents and flavoring and fragrance emitters are examples of active packaging systems for the preservation and shelf life of foods.