Nano-Revolution in Beverage Industry: Tailoring Nano-Engineering to Consummate Novel Processing and Packaging Panacea

TLDR: The nano-enabled packaging panacea spans over supplementation of nanomaterials in commercially viable synthetic polymers to embellish their mechanical, optical and thermal properties besides contriving novel antimicrobial, moisture/gas adsorbing/absorbing or repelling, and bio-catalytical functionalities thereby enhancing the shelf life, nutritional quality, and safety of the packaged beverages as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: Nano-engineering, an emerging engendering field, encompasses bottom-up synthesis of diverse novel materials/structures that can be assembled or augmented to fabricate innovative devices and systems showcasing unique multi-functionalities. It has entrailed down the beverage production, processing and preservation, packaging, quality monitoring, and shelf life/safety-related technologies through design of predictive models, tools/apparatus at nanoscale. The nano-enabled packaging panacea spans over supplementation of nanomaterials (could be inorganic or organic in origin) in commercially viable synthetic polymers to embellish their mechanical, optical, and thermal properties besides contriving novel antimicrobial, moisture/gas adsorbing/absorbing or repelling, and bio-catalytical functionalities thereby enhancing the shelf life, nutritional quality, and safety of the packaged beverages. The nano-processing interventions rather involve developing beverages fortified with nanoscale nutrients (zinc, iron, calcium, and selenium); nutraceuticals (flavonoids and phenolics); biocolorants or dietary supplements including secondary metabolites like beta-carotene, lycopene; flavor concealment or multiple flavor augmentations; and creation of new textures of diverse structural components. This chapter explores the extent of introgression of nano-interventions in beverage industry to address the daunting challenges of development of novel beverage formulations, and recent nano-trends in beverages as functional foods.