Cellulose-Based Food Packaging Being Developed to Replace Plastic Packaging
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Life-style changes and the need for product differentiation have put pressure on the quality and sales appeal of food packaging. This has increased the amount of packaging material. At the moment, most food packaging material is of non-renewable, oil-based origin. According to EUROSTAT, domestic plastic packaging waste in Europe amounts to more than 15 million metric tpy, of which 40% is disposed of and not recovered or recycled.
To increase the amount of bio-based food packaging materials, the European ADCELLPACK consortium is developing a thermoplastic wood-fiber-based packaging material for trays used primarily in packages of sliced cheese.
The new material will be designed to suit Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). The MAP technique is widely used for the preservation of fresh foods because it offers the product an increased shelf life. In this packaging technique, atmospheric air inside the package is replaced with the desired gas mixture. Common MAP packaging structures are based on non-renewable multilayer materials, which are difficult to recycle.
The use of bio-based materials is a promising alternative in the packaging industry for reducing the environmental impact and the use of non-renewable resources. Materials based on cellulose can be an outstanding alternative to substitute materials currently used in MAP, ADCELLPACK notes, adding that a fully sustainable solution will be developed that will maintain the freshness of the product and assure its food contact safety. The solution will provide actual or improved shelf life through the use of cellulosic materials and biodegradable polymers, with simplified production. There will be broad opportunity for use of the solution in several food products currently packaged using MAP.
ADCELLPACK is a two-year project that started at the beginning of November 2012. Its budget is EUR 1.4 million, and the project is financed by the EU (FP7-SME-2012 Research for the benefit of specific groups).
The consortium is based on a group of four SMEs – Distribuciones Juan Luna, S.L.U. (Spain), Papelera de Brandia, S.A. (Spain), Elastopoli Oy (Finland), and Skymark Packaging International Limited (UK); one large enterprise – Centros Comerciales Carrefour (Spain); and two relevant research centers – VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and ITENE Packaging, Transport, and Logistics Research Center (Spain), the latter as coordinator of this initiative. All have expertise in paper production, bioplastics processing, conversion of packaging materials, and cheese production. The research has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme managed by REA-Research Executive Agency under grant agreement number 315688.
As depicted in the graphic below, ADCELLPACK's new solution will provide a readily thermoformable tray mainly composed of cellulose (up to 90% in weight), with improved properties using modified pulp fine fraction.
More information is available online.
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