Packaging is the enclosure or wrapping of products, and its functions include product containment for handling, transportation, and use, preservation through barrier protection, optimisation of product presentation, hygiene, and facilitating dispensing and use. The term covers retail or primary packaging that touches the food, grouped or secondary packaging that collates units, and transport or tertiary packaging such as pallets and stretch wrap. In food science, packaging is an active quality tool: barrier films control oxygen and moisture transfer, modified atmospheres slow spoilage, and tamper-evident features assure integrity. Material choice must also satisfy food-contact safety rules on migration, while sustainability pressures drive recyclable and reduced-material designs.