L Zhang, Junhua Zhang, Mei Cui, Wei Qi, Renliang Huang, Rongxin Su, K ZHANG
Food loss and food safety remain pressing global challenges, with roughly one-third of food lost or wasted annually and approximately 420 000 deaths attributed to foodborne diseases. Conventional preservation and detection methods-such as refrigeration and centralized laboratory testing-are effective but often are energy- and infrastructure-intensive, and provide delayed feedback. As a systems-level alternative, multifunctional bio-based packaging integrates two or more functions within and/or across preservation and quality monitoring, evolving from passive barriers into structure-informed platforms that couple material chemistry, hierarchical architecture, and transport regulation. This review summarizes advances from 2020-2025 across radiative cooling systems, modified atmosphere packaging, active platforms, intelligent sensing labels, and superhydrophobic surfaces. We synthesize design principles through a structure-transport-function lens and emphasize commodity-specific operating windows linking physiology to permeability/selectivity, release kinetics, and sensing reliability. To enable cross-study comparison, we define integration paradigms (superposition, coupling, and quantitatively validated synergy) and adopt standardized benchmarking based on the shelf life multiplier. Translation readiness is assessed via scalable manufacturing, migration and biosafety, ISO-aligned LCA, TEA, and consumer acceptance. Finally, we propose a food-matrix-informed framework for next-generation bio-based packaging that unites dynamic preservation and sensing with standardized validation and scalable green manufacturing, guiding rational development toward safer, more sustainable, and waste-minimized food systems.