Recent Advances in Nanotechnological Approaches to Enhance the Industrial Application of Essential Oils and Their Application in Food Packaging

Essential oils (EOs) are lipophilic volatile compounds synthesized by plants and used for centuries in several areas, including medicine and cosmetic. Currently, they have gained great visibility in the food industry, including their application in food packaging development. However, EOs present inherent characteristics that may limit their application in food products/packaging, especially triggered by the nature of their constituents (e.g., strong sensorial aspects, high sensibility to external factors: temperature, and oxygen). Thus, efforts have been made in the search for technologies to help circumvent these drawbacks. Among these alternatives, nanotechnology has been highlighted as an important one. Studies have shown that there are some promising nanotechnological approaches to improve the application of EOs in food and food packaging. This chapter describes the main aspects circumventing EOs’ hole in the food industry, especially when used as an active additive in food packaging, and how nanotechnology can be an important tool to increase their application in this area. Some examples of nanotechniques are presented and discussed in order to present an overview of this important and current topic.