Saffron: Perspectives and Sustainability for Active and Intelligent Food Packaging Applications

Active and intelligent packaging can effectively improve the shelf life and monitor food quality in real-time packaged products without affecting nutritional value. With the growing interest in human health and well-being, active packaging integrated with natural functional ingredients has great potential in improving and maintaining food safety and quality and promoting marketability. Saffron has emerged as a promising functional material for active packaging due to its strong antioxidant, non-cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory effects, anticancer, prevention of diabetes, obesity, and medicinal effects. This review discusses and summarizes recent information on using saffron as a multifunctional material for active and intelligent food packaging applications. In particular, research on biocompatible natural polymer-based active packaging films containing saffron is being reviewed. In addition, the prospect of saffron-based intelligent packaging film as a safe freshness indicator for monitoring quality changes in various foods has been discussed. Finally, it highlighted the current challenges, development directions, and prospects for saffron-based active and intelligent packaging materials that will promote the commercialization of safe and sustainable packaging in the food industry. It is expected that the recognition of saffron as a functional packaging material will increase and the possibility of its application as a packaging film will increase.