Active biopackaging produced from by-products and waste from food and marine industries

Abstract

The agro-food industry cannot today do without packaging to preserve and above all market its products. Plastic materials coming mainly from petrochemicals have taken a predominant place in the food packaging sector. They have become indispensable in many sectors, from fresh to frozen products, from meat and dairy products to fruit and vegetables or almost-ready meals. Plastics are cheap, their lightness reduces transport costs, and their convenience is fundamental for out-of-home catering. However, plastics pose serious end-of-life issues. The development of materials that are more respectful of the consumer and the environment has become a major issue. In addition, the agro-food industries generate significant quantities of waste or by-products that are poorly or not at all recovered. However, these contain constituents that can be extracted or transformed to be compatible with packaging uses. Many molecules from waste materials are of particular interest for the development of active packaging such as biopolymers, bioactive agents, inorganic compounds, fibers, or nano- and micro-objects. Providing bioactive functions such as antioxidants or antimicrobials can extend the shelf life of food while reducing the sophistication of plastic materials and thus improving their recycling. This article summarizes the main materials and constituents that can be recovered from waste and illustrates through several examples what could be the applications of such new, sustainable, and active packaging.

Keywords: agro-food by-product valorization; antimicrobial and antioxidant; bioactive films; biopolymers; food packaging; sustainability.

Fig. 1

Trajectories of plastic production [5], primary waste generation by consumers and industries [6], number of bottles and lids collected from a region 100 m long on South African beaches [7], waste discarded (adapted from Waters et al. [8]), and of the theoretical degradation of polyolefins in oceans.

Fig. 2

Impact of the Maillard reaction on the improvement of gelatin film water solubility and of the antioxidant properties as a function of temperature treatment (adapted from Ref. [76]).

Fig. 3

Processing steps for the development of active coating based on chitosan and essential oil components applied on industrial films (Adapted from Ref. [89]).

Fig. 4

Active coated film efficacy on microbial growth and lethality and sensory impact on packaged foods (adapted from Ref. [89])