scholarly journals Compostable Polylactide and Cellulose Based Packaging for Fresh-Cut Cherry Tomatoes: Performance Evaluation and Influence of Sterilization Treatment

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Rapisarda ◽  
Cristina Patanè ◽  
Alessandra Pellegrino ◽  
Angelo Malvuccio ◽  
Valeria Rizzo ◽  
...  

For food packaging, plastic materials display large appeal, mostly due to their versatility, mechanical, optical and barrier properties. However, they play an important role in environmental concerns and waste management issue. Compostable bioplastics represent alternative materials designed for a lower environmental impact. In this work, a biobased compostable packaging, constituted by polylactide (PLA) trays and NatureFlex™ film, was evaluated for fresh-cut cherry tomato. A comparative analysis was accomplished using traditional packaging materials, that is, polyethylene terephtalate (PET) trays and polypropylene (PP Coex) film. Structural stability under food contact conditions, mechanical and physical-chemical properties were investigated. Tensile mechanical properties, puncture resistance, contact angle (CA) and attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), before and after UV or radiofrequency (RF) sterilization treatment, were evaluated. UV irradiation method resulted the less invasive one. Therefore, oxygen and water vapor transmission rate (OTR and WVTR), overall chemical migration test, biodegradation assessment by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) according to ISO 14851 and disintegration test by ISO 20200 were carried out to establish the further influence of UV sterilization on the packaging. Overall, data showed that the biobased compostable packaging for a prolonged shelf-life of fresh-cut cherry tomato has better properties that were surprisingly enhanced by the UV treatment.

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (15) ◽  
pp. 3491
Author(s):  
Andrea Walzl ◽  
Samir Kopacic ◽  
Wolfgang Bauer ◽  
Erich Leitner

The current demand to cut back on the use of plastic materials has brought a major boost to the search for bio-based alternatives. Not only are plastic bags and primary food packaging under scrutiny here, but also those materials used as functional barriers to reduce, for example, the migration of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) from recycled paper and board packaging. Most of the barriers now in use are synthetic, often have only moderate barrier functionalities and in addition reduce the environmentally-friendly character of cellulose-based materials. Against this background, bio-based polymers have been evaluated in terms of their functional barrier properties. Chitosan was found to be among the best performers in these materials. In this study, the behavior of a lab-made chitosan acetate film was compared with conventionally produced polymer films. The two-sided migration experiment described recently was used to determine the barrier properties of the tested materials. This not only allowed to test the intrinsic migration of the films and the permeation through them, but also to simulate real packaging situations by using a recycled paper as donor for MOH. The migrated fractions were determined using gas-chromatography-based techniques. While the conventionally produced polymer films showed only moderate barrier function, excellent results were seen for the biopolymer. It reduced the migration from the recycled paper to not detectable, singling it out as a good alternative to conventional materials.


Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1780
Author(s):  
Shunli Chen ◽  
Min Wu ◽  
Caixia Wang ◽  
Shun Yan ◽  
Peng Lu ◽  
...  

The use of advanced and eco-friendly materials has become a trend in the field of food packaging. Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) were prepared from bleached bagasse pulp board by a mechanical grinding method and were used to enhance the properties of a chitosan/oregano essential oil (OEO) biocomposite packaging film. The growth inhibition rate of the developed films with 2% (w/w) OEO against E. coli and L. monocytogenes reached 99%. With the increased levels of added CNFs, the fibrous network structure of the films became more obvious, as was determined by SEM and the formation of strong hydrogen bonds between CNFs and chitosan was observed in FTIR spectra, while the XRD pattern suggested that the strength of diffraction peaks and crystallinity of the films slightly increased. The addition of 20% CNFs contributed to an oxygen-transmission rate reduction of 5.96 cc/m2·day and water vapor transmission rate reduction of 741.49 g/m2·day. However, the increase in CNFs contents did not significantly improve the barrier properties of the film. The addition of 60% CNFs significantly improved the barrier properties of the film to light and exhibited the lowest light transmittance (28.53%) at 600 nm. Addition of CNFs to the chitosan/OEO film significantly improved tensile strength and the addition of 60% CNFs contributed to an increase of 16.80 MPa in tensile strength. The developed chitosan/oregano essential oil/CNFs biocomposite film with favorable properties and antibacterial activity can be used as a green, functional material in the food-packaging field. It has the potential to improve food quality and extend food shelf life.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 552-556
Author(s):  
Hanafi Hanafi ◽  
Nurdiani Nurdiani ◽  
Septilina Melati Sirait ◽  
Dhina Aprilia Nurani Widyahapsari ◽  
Candra Irawan

Plastic as food packaging can cause environmental and health problem. One solution for this problems is by substitute conventional plastic into biodegradable plastic such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA). To improve the physical and chemical properties of PLA, synthetic antioxidant such as Butyl Hydroxyl Toluene (BHT) and Tert Butyl Hydroxyl Quinon (TBHQ) were added into PLA. The analysis was carried out on the PLA-BHT and PLA-TBHQ packaging and also food simulants before and after storage at different temperature for 10 days. The analysis included visual appearance, antioxidant activity, total phenol and overall migration. Both PLA-BHT and PLA-TBHQ packaging that were incubated at temperature 40°C had larger migration than at 29°C. The antioxidant activity and total phenol of PLA-TBHQ was higher than PLA-BHT and both of them had decreased antioxidant activity and total phenol during storage but the decreased rate at temperature 40°C was higher than at temperature 29°C.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-58
Author(s):  
Barbara E. Teixeira-Costa ◽  
Cristina T. Andrade

In this review, a historical perspective, functional and application trends of natural polymers used to the development of edible food packaging were presented and discussed. Polysaccharides and proteins, i.e., alginate; carrageenan; chitosan; starch; pea protein, were considered. These natural polymers are important materials obtained from renewable plant, algae and animal sources, as well as from agroindustrial residues. Historically, some of them have been widely used by ancient populations for food packaging until these were replaced by petroleum-based plastic materials after World War II. Nowadays, biobased materials for food packaging have attracted attention. Their use was boosted especially because of the environmental pollution caused by inappropriate disposal of plastic packaging. Biobased materials are welcome to the design of food packaging because they possess many advantages, such as biodegradability, biocompatibility and low toxicity. Depending on the formulation, certain biopolymer-based packaging may present good barrier properties, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities Thus, polysaccharides and proteins can be combined to form diverse composite films with improved mechanical and biological behaviors, making them suitable for packaging of different food products.


Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Siracusa ◽  
Santina Romani ◽  
Matteo Gigli ◽  
Cinzia Mannozzi ◽  
Juan Cecchini ◽  
...  

Thermal, structural and physico-chemical properties of different composite edible films based on alginate and pectin with the addition of citral essential oil (citral EO) as an agent to improve barrier properties, were investigated. The obtained films were clear and transparent, with a yellow hue that increased with citral EO addition. All the films displayed good thermal stability up to 160 °C, with a slight improvement observed by increasing the amount of citral EO in the composites. Gas transmission rate (GTR) strongly depended on the polymer structure, gas type and temperature, with improvement in barrier performance for composite samples. Also, citral EO did not exert any weakening action on the tensile behavior. On the contrary, an increase of the elastic modulus and of the tensile strength was observed. Lastly, water contact angle measurements demonstrated the dependence of the film wettability on the content of citral EO.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoti Tripathi ◽  
Rupali Ambolikar ◽  
Sumit Gupta ◽  
Dheeraj Jain ◽  
Jitendra Bahadur ◽  
...  

Abstract Improving functional properties of biopolymers for use as environment friendly packaging is an area of current interest. Biodegradable films with improved barrier and mechanical properties were prepared from methylated guar gum. Methylation resulted in structural modification of guar gum (GG) promoting greater crystallization thereby enhancing thermal stability towards decomposition. Reduction in radius of gyration (Rg), weight average molecular weight (Mw), and an increase in polydispersity index (PDI) were also observed due to methylation. Methylated guar gum (MGG) films exhibited 40% lower water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) as compared to control purified guar gum (PGG) films. Films prepared by partial replacement of PGG with MGG (10, 25, 50, 75 and 100% w/w) showed gradual improvement in percent elongation. The study gives an insight on the role of methylation in enhancing barrier and mechanical properties of GG based biodegradable films for possible application in food packaging.


Author(s):  
Umair Qasim ◽  
Ahmed I. Osman ◽  
Ala’a H. Al-Muhtaseb ◽  
Charlie Farrell ◽  
Mohammed Al-Abri ◽  
...  

Abstract The extensive use of petroleum-based synthetic and non-biodegradable materials for packaging applications has caused severe environmental damage. The rising demand for sustainable packaging materials has encouraged scientists to explore abundant unconventional materials. For instance, cellulose, extracted from lignocellulosic biomass, has gained attention owing to its ecological and biodegradable nature. This article reviews the extraction of cellulose nanoparticles from conventional and non-conventional lignocellulosic biomass, and the preparation of cellulosic nanocomposites for food packaging. Cellulosic nanocomposites exhibit exceptional mechanical, biodegradation, optical and barrier properties, which are attributed to the nanoscale structure and the high specific surface area, of 533 m2 g−1, of cellulose. The mechanical properties of composites improve with the content of cellulose nanoparticles, yet an excessive amount induces agglomeration and, in turn, poor mechanical properties. Addition of cellulose nanoparticles increases tensile properties by about 42%. Barrier properties of the composites are reinforced by cellulose nanoparticles; for instance, the water vapor permeability decreased by 28% in the presence of 5 wt% cellulose nanoparticles. Moreover, 1 wt% addition of filler decreased the oxygen transmission rate by 21%. We also discuss the eco-design process, designing principles and challenges.


Polymers ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongmei Han ◽  
Yiqing Luo ◽  
Qing Ju ◽  
Xujing Xiao ◽  
Min Xiao ◽  
...  

Nanobrick wall hybrid coating with super oxygen barrier properties were fabricated on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film using a quadlayer (QL) assembly of polyelectrolytes and nanoplateles. A quadlayer assembly consists of three repeat units of polyacrylic acid (PAA), poly (dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride) (PDDA) and layered α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP). PDDA with positive charges can assemble alternatively with both α-ZrP and PAA with negative charges to form nanobrick wall architectures on the surface of PET film via the electrostatic interaction. The lamellar structure of α-ZrP platelets and the dense QL assembly coating can greatly reduce the oxygen transmission rate (OTR) of PET film. Compared to pristine PET film, the OTR of PET (QL)19 is reduced from 57 to 0.87 cc/m2/day. Moreover, even with 19 QLs coating, PET (QL)19 composite film is still with an optical transparency higher than 90% and a haze lower than 10%. Therefore, the transparent PET (QL)n composite films with super oxygen barrier properties show great potential application in food packaging and flexible electronic packaging.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 2523
Author(s):  
Gregor Lavrič ◽  
Ana Oberlintner ◽  
Inese Filipova ◽  
Uroš Novak ◽  
Blaž Likozar ◽  
...  

 The aim of the study was to characterize and compare films made of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), nano-fibrils (CNF), and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) in combination with chitosan and alginate in terms of applicability for potential food packaging applications. In total, 25 different formulations were made and evaluated, and seven biopolymer films with the best mechanical performance (tensile strength, strain)—alginate, alginate with 5% CNC, chitosan, chitosan with 3% CNC, BNC with and without glycerol, and CNF with glycerol—were selected and investigated regarding morphology (SEM), density, contact angle, surface energy, water absorption, and oxygen and water barrier properties. Studies revealed that polysaccharide-based films with added CNC are the most suitable for packaging purposes, and better dispersing of nanocellulose in chitosan than in alginate was observed. Results showed an increase in hydrophobicity (increase of contact angle and reduced moisture absorption) of chitosan and alginate films with the addition of CNC, and chitosan with 3% CNC had the highest contact angle, 108 ± 2, and 15% lower moisture absorption compared to pure chitosan. Overall, the ability of nanocellulose additives to preserve the structure and function of chitosan and alginate materials in a humid environment was convincingly demonstrated. Barrier properties were improved by combining the biopolymers, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) was reduced by 15–45% and oxygen permeability (OTR) up to 45% by adding nanocellulose compared to single biopolymer formulations. It was concluded that with a good oxygen barrier, a water barrier that is comparable to PLA, and good mechanical properties, biopolymer films would be a good alternative to conventional plastic packaging used for ready-to-eat foods with short storage time. 


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Bugnicourt ◽  
M. Schmid ◽  
O. Mc. Nerney ◽  
J. Wildner ◽  
L. Smykala ◽  
...  

A biopolymer coating for plastic films was formulated based on whey protein, and its potential to replace current synthetic oxygen barrier layers used in food packaging such as ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymers (EVOH) was tested. The whey-coating application was performed at semi-industrial scale. High barrier to oxygen with transmission rate down to ranges of 1 cm3(STP) m−2d−1bar−1at and 50% relative humidity (r.h.) but interesting humidity barrier down to ranges of 3 g m−2d−1(both normalized to 100 μm thickness) were reached, outperforming most existing biopolymers. Coated films were validated for storing various food products showing that the shelf life and sensory attributes were maintained similar to reference packaging films while complying with food safety regulations. The developed whey coating could be enzymatically removed within 2 hours and is therefore compatible with plastic recycling operations to allow multilayer films to become recyclable by separating the other combined layers. A life cycle assessment was performed showing a significant reduction in the environmental impact of the packaging thanks in particular to the possibility of recycling materials as opposed to incinerating those containing EVOH or polyamide (PA), but due to the use of biosourced raw materials.


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