Bio-based and sustainable food packaging systems: relevance, challenges, and prospects
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Applied Food Research
Abstract
Packaging materials are critical in ensuring the safety and quality of foods. Conventional packaging materials
from non-renewable sources have revolutionized the food packaging industry, driven largely by convenience,
low cost, good moisture barriers, and exhibition of excellent mechanical and handling properties. However, the
growing ecological crisis and health burden emanating from heterogenous plastic waste demands sustainable and
biodegradable alternatives, which promote circularity and lead to responsible material consumption. Beyond
protection and containment, sustainable food packaging materials, unlike their traditional fossil cousins, leave
minimal environmental impact and low carbon footprint from birth to dust. There is, therefore, a growing body
of research on sustainable food packaging systems from different classes of natural polymers derived mainly from
plants and animals. Bio-based packaging materials have been identified as possible renewable sources that can
potentially replace conventional packaging materials. They can be extracted from biomass, chemically synthe sized, or produced by microorganisms. Besides, they can be processed using wet and dry processes, and other
complementary processes. Bio-based materials are generally abundant in nature, and their sources can be
broadly categorized into polysaccharides, proteins, and polyhydroxyalkanoates. Though noted as renewable
sources, their application has some limitations, such as difficulty in processing and poor performance. However,
they can be blended with other materials to overcome these limitations, improving their intrinsic and extrinsic
properties, thereby increasing their applicability in the food industry. This review aims to provide an overview of
bio-based packaging materials and their consideration for sustainable food packaging. Besides, it discusses the
properties critical for their application in the food industry, their limitations, and prospects.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
io-based polymers, Polyhydroxybutyrate