Conversations in Food Packaging and Preservation: Is Zero-Waste Food Packaging a Fantasy or a Near-Future Reality?

Zero-waste packaging is often promoted as the food industry’s answer to plastic pollution — compostable films, edible coatings, and reusable systems marketed as ready to scale. Sceptics counter that many alternatives underperform on shelf life and food safety, that “compostable” claims outpace real composting infrastructure, and that reuse systems struggle with hygiene and cost at industrial scale.This article collection invites Opinion and Perspective papers that take a clear position on where zero-waste food packaging really stands. We welcome perspectives on: the technical readiness of biodegradable, edible, and reusable materials against food-safety and shelf-life demands; whether waste-management infrastructure can support current “zero-waste” claims; the trade-off between packaging failure and food waste; and what a realistic, near-term roadmap looks like versus an aspirational one.We are looking for provocative, concise opinion pieces that stake out a clear position and invite debate from packaging scientists, food technologists, and industry and policy voices across the supply chain. Topic editors: Frontiers In Food Science And Technology Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84460/conversations-in-food-packaging-and-preservation-is-zero-waste-food-packaging-a-fantasy-or-a-near-future-reality