## 6 Conclusions  
Besides current political requirements that aim to improve sustainability aspects, the development and promotion of more sustainable materials have gained more importance due to consumer interests. As customers preferences shifted to high quality and safe products with enhanced shelf life, the development of various new trends in packaging systems has arisen. Research focuses on improving the characteristics of bio-based packaging materials, in particular mechanical, thermal, and physical properties. Although bio-based polymers provide significant opportunities in terms of sustainability and biocompatibility, their use in industrial applications is often restricted due to lower performance in fundamental packaging functions. Companies are faced with a challenge of alternatives offering higher costs, limited functionality, existing infrastructure, and inconsistent legislation. Furthermore, a lack of compatibility with conventional processing technologies has to be overcome. Food companies need to be willing to pay more for the material to pack their products and the consumer needs to accept the novel concept of (active) packaging. The _proof-of-concept_ is shown by a few commercially available biopolymers with food applications such as PLA, PHAs, PEF, PBS, and thermoplastic cellulose or starch-based films. In the future, the market for sustained active packaging will certainly increase due to enhanced efforts and innovations in material development and processing technologies.  
Conceptualization and writing--original draft preparation, I.K.; writing--original draft preparation, J.N.F., T.H., J.R., J.W., and M.S. ([PERSON]); writing--review and editing, project administration and funding acquisition, S.B., J.K., R.P., M.S. ([PERSON]), and M.S. ([PERSON]). [PERSON]. (native speaker) performed final English revision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was funded by EFRE/NRW \"Biobasierte Produkte\" (Grant EFRE 0500035). [PERSON] gratefully acknowledges a scholarship given by the Graduate Institute of the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.  
**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.  
**List of Abbreviations**  
APET Amorphous poly(ethylene terephthalate)  
AZC Ammonium zirconium carbonate  
CA Cellulose acetate  
CAB Cellulose acetate butyrate  
CAP Cellulose acetate propionate  
CMC Carboxymethylellulose  
CoO.ZnO  
Cobalt(II) oxide/zinc oxide  
EO Essential oil  
GHG Greenhouse gas  
HDFE High density poly(ethylene)  
HLCNC High lignin-containing cellulose nanocrystals  
HPMC Hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose  
LCA Life cycle analysis  
LDPE Low density poly(ethelene)  
PA Poly(amide)  
PBAT Poly(butylene adipate terephthalate)  
PBS Poly(butylene succinate)  
PCL Poly(caprolactone)  
PE Poly(ethylene)  
PHA Poly(hydroxyalkanoate)  
PHB Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)  
PEF Poly(ethylene furanoate)  
PET Poly(ethylene terephthalate)  
PHBHHx Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)  
PHBV Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)  
PLA Poly(lactic acid)  
PP Poly(propylene)  
PS Poly(styrene)  
PTT Poly(trimethylene terephthalate)  
PVA Poly(vinyl alcohol)  
PVC Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)  
SA Sodium alginate  
SAM Sustainable active microbiocidal (SAM)  
SiO\({}_{2}\) Silicon dioxide  
TAIC Triallyl isocyanurate  
WVP Water vapor permeability  
**Glossary**  
Active packaging Materials designed to deliberately incorporated components that would release or absorb substances into or from the packaged food or the environment surrounding the food.  
Bioactive Compound that has an effect on a living organism, tissue/cell.  
Compound that is composed (in whole or in significant part) of  
Bio-based biological products or renewable domestic agricultural or forestry materials (including plant, animal, and marine materials).  
Biodegradable Degradability achieved via microorganisms.