Intelligent packaging in the food sector. Shaping a research agenda and finding future trends.

In the packaging sector, several new technologies and innovative functions are enriching the features of this item. This is an interesting trend that is going to have huge impact not only on consumers but on all subjects involved in the co-creation process, especially in the food market. Thus, this paper provides an introductory overview of smart, intelligent, and active packaging and discusses their innovative technologies. Through a systematic literature review, this article examines the main trends in this field, focusing on the following factors: (i) the leading journals in the chosen area, (ii) journals' names per number of published articles, (iii) the number of articles published in the selected field per area, (iv) the number of publications over the years, and (v) the geographic location of the first author. Finally, conclusions are showed and a presentation of future, critical research areas that can be explored, and potential insights which can be highlighted, in food area, are shown.