A requirement-driven approach to design food packaging: a new decision support system relying on structured database

The selection of a food packaging requires taking multiple criteria into account . Decision Support Systems (DSS) are elaborated numerical tools designed to help users in such decision-making processes that help users in such decision processes. The main role of packaging is to protect food, so food needs must guide the decision process. However, this knowledge is not always available, or is scattered across the scientific literature and industry. The aim of this study was to provide an innovative new DSS relying on a structured database that allows the collection and compilation of food and packaging material data for an easier, simpler and more comprehensive food requirement driven approach. It also relies on queries that allow this data to be combined to suggest optimal packaging materials for a food product. The novelty of this DSS relies also on the possibility to be used in a reverse mode, to provide food packaging applications for a material with given properties. The DSS was validated on three case studies: strawberries and processed spreadable cheese, as food case studies for which optimal packaging materials were provided, and a polymer-coated cardboard, as packaging material, for which food applications were found. This dataset comprises: - the Microsoft Access prototype - a demonstration video - excel files showing the calculations for the study cases: - strawberry, - processed fresh cheese