A narrative review of food packaging-related measures to reduce food loss and waste throughout the food supply chain

Food loss and waste (FLW) pose a major global challenge with substantial environmental, economic, and social consequences. Packaging has a dual role in the food supply chain (FSC), so that inadequate design can contribute to FLW, whereas appropriate packaging can protect food, extend shelf-life, and support informed decision-making. However, existing reviews largely examine packaging technologies, waste-derived materials, or FLW drivers separately, leaving a gap in understanding how packaging interventions operate across the entire FSC. This narrative review introduces a stage-specific framework integrating two complementary but distinct pathways including prevention through innovative packaging (edible coatings, active and intelligent packaging) and valorisation of unavoidable FLW through biorefinery into polymer matrices, plasticisers, and functional additives. It maps packaging-related drivers and interventions from primary production to consumption and critically examines the life cycle and techno-economic performance of these strategies, relevant policy and regulatory frameworks, implementation barriers, and future directions. Most innovative packaging solutions target FLW prevention after harvest, particularly during storage, distribution, retail, and consumption, whereas biorefinery approaches valorise unavoidable residues generated mainly during primary production and processing. By positioning packaging as a strategic component of circular food systems, this review provides a systems-oriented basis for evaluating its contribution to FLW reduction