The process of food oxidation, especially of lipids, is initiated amongst others by free radicals. It is rather slow in the beginning, the concentration of hydroperoxides and other oxidation products increases gradually, leading to an exponential increase in the rate of oxidation process. This initial period is called the induction period, in which food keeps its sensory quality (aroma, flavor, appearance and texture). To prevent food from spoiling, different techniques have been developed. Traditionally, food was dried, salted, heated, cooled, frozen, smoked, acidulated, fermented and/or airtight sealed. All these methods are still in use, although cooling and freezing gained popularity and by now are used in nearly every household in the western world by refrigerators and freezers.

Antioxidants are oxidation inhibitors that can play a significant role in keeping the degradation of food in the induction period. In this project, various antioxidant molecules/functionalities were grafted to the surfaces of food packaging material and their effect in delaying food oxidation was investigated. The results of our investigation will be discussed.