A move in the ripe direction? Biodegradable coating can be sprayed on food to keep it fresh for 50% longer – and it could replace plastic packaging in supermarkets
- Packaging uses fibres made from polysaccharides – carbohydrates found in food
- Fibres are spun from a heating device, before being ‘shrink-wrapped’ over foods
- The fibres are laced with thyme oil, citric acid and nisin – naturally occurring antimicrobial ingredients that fight spoilage
There’s nothing more annoying than leaving leftovers in the fridge, only to find they’ve gone off when you go to use them.
But they days of having to chuck out your leftovers could be a thing of the past, thanks to a new biodegradable coating.
Researchers from Rutgers School of Public Health have developed a coating that can be sprayed on food – and say it keeps products fresh for 50 per cent longer.
The team hopes their plant-based coating could soon replace plastic packaging in supermarkets.
Researchers from Rutgers School of Public Health have developed a coating that can be sprayed on food – and say it keeps leftovers fresh for 50 per cent longer
Fibres are spun from a heating device that resembles a hair dryer, before being ‘shrink-wrapped’ over foods including avocados or steaks
‘We knew we needed to get rid of the petroleum-based food packaging that is out there and replace it with something more sustainable, biodegradable and nontoxic,’ said Philip Demokritou, an author of the study.
‘And we asked ourselves at the same time, “Can we design food packaging with a functionality to extend shelf life and reduce food waste while enhancing food safety?”
‘What we have come up with is a scalable technology, which enables us to turn biopolymers, which can be derived as part of a circular economy from food waste, into smart fibres that can wrap food directly.
‘This is part of new generation, “smart” and “green” food packaging.’
The packaging uses fibres made from polysaccharides – the most abundant carbohydrates found in food.
These fibres are spun from a heating device that resembles a hair dryer, before being ‘shrink-wrapped’ over foods including avocados or steaks.
The fibres are laced with thyme oil, citric acid and nisin – naturally occurring antimicrobial ingredients that fight spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms such as E. coli and listeria.
Once you’re ready to eat the food, the coating can be rinsed off with water, and degrades in soil within three days
During testing, the researchers found that the coating (APF) helped to extend the shelf-life of avocados by 50 per cent
The coating can not only help to prevent spoilage, but is also sturdy enough to prevent bruising, according to the team.
Once you’re ready to eat the food, the coating can simply be rinsed off with water, and degrades in soil within three days.
During testing on avocados, the researchers found that the coating helped to extend the fruit’s shelf-life 50 per cent.
Best of all, the researchers have shown the scalability of their approach.
While popular fibre-production techniques currently spin fibres at a rate of 0.01 grams/minute, the researchers’ new technique can produce fibres at a much higher production rate of 0.2 grams/minute.
The team hopes the new packaging could help with efforts to curb the use of plastics in supermarkets.
‘Over the past 50 to 60 years, during the Age of Plastic, we’ve placed 6 billion metric tons of plastic waste into our environment,’ Dr Demokritou said.
‘They are out there degrading slowly.
‘And these tiny fragments are making it into the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe.’
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