Smart Polymers for Food and Water Quality Control and Safety

Abstract

A large number of annual cases of diseases and deaths related to spoiled or contaminated food, and the amount of food waste are a matter of socio-economic impact, highlighting the need for a fast, easy, cheap, available, and real-time determination of food quality and safety. To ensure this, physical and chemical food quality indicators such as humidity, temperature, gases, pH, microorganisms, pesticides, etc., should be controlled and monitored during production, transportation, storage, and consumption. In this sense, smart polymers are raised as useful tools to facilitate this task. These polymers are sensitive to variations in the microenvironment, modifying their properties and/or generating a response that can be measured. Due to their versatility, these materials can be part of the food packaging to inform the consumers or be used as a measuring tool to determine the state of the food. This chapter envisaged the concept of smart polymers, the types, and their main applications for determining food quality and ensuring food and beverage safety.