Nylon Bags May Become a Thing of the Past

Plastic Bags Could Become History Scientists are developing antimicrobial, plant-based food wrapping designed to replace plastic. A scientist from Rutgers University, aiming to produce environment-friendly alternatives to plastic food packaging and containers, has developed a biodegradable, plant-based coating that can be sprayed onto food, providing protection against pathogenic and spoilage-causing microorganisms and shipping damage. The scalable process could potentially reduce the negative environmental impacts of plastic food packaging and protect human health. Philip Demokritou, Director of the Nanoscience and Advanced Materials Research Center and Member of the Henry Rutgers Chair in Nanoscience and Environmental Bioengineering at Rutgers School of Public Health and Institute of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, stated: "We knew we needed to get away from petroleum-based food packaging and replace it with something more sustainable, biodegradable and non-toxic," and continued: "At the same time, we asked ourselves, 'Can we design food packaging with functionality that will extend shelf life and reduce food waste while enhancing food safety?'" Demokritou said, "What we have come up with is a scalable technology that enables us to transform biopolymers, which can be obtained as part of a circular economy from food waste, into smart fibers that can directly wrap food—in other words, next-generation, 'smart' and 'green' food packaging." The research was conducted in collaboration with scientists at Harvard University and was funded by the Harvard-Nanyang Technological University/Singapore Initiative for Sustainable Nanotechnology. An article published in the journal Nature Food describes the new type of packaging technology using polysaccharide/biopolymer-based fibers. Like the webs cast by comic book character Spider-Man, the fibrous material can be spun from a heating device resembling a hair dryer and can "shrink-wrap" onto foods of various shapes and sizes, such as avocados or beef fillets. The material coating food products is strong enough to prevent impacts and contains antimicrobial agents to fight pathogenic microorganisms such as E. coli and listeria. The research article includes a description of a technology called focused rotary jet spinning, a process through which the biopolymer is produced, and quantitative assessments showing that the coating extended the shelf life of avocados by 50 percent. According to the study, the coating can be rinsed with water and dissolves in soil within three days. The new packaging aims to address a serious environmental issue: the prevalence of petroleum-based plastic products in the waste stream. Demokritou said that efforts to prevent plastic use, such as laws eliminating the distribution of plastic shopping bags in stores in states like New Jersey, can help. But the scientist wants to do more. Demokritou stated, "I am not against plastics." "However, I am against the continuous disposal of petroleum-based plastics because only a very small fraction of them can be recycled. Over the past 50 to 60 years, during the Plastic Age, we have deposited 6 billion metric tons of plastic waste into our environment. These slowly degrade, and these small pieces mix into the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe." Evidence from Demokritou's research team and other studies points to potential health impacts. The article describes how the new fibers wrapping food bond with naturally occurring antimicrobial compounds (thyme oil, citric acid and nisin). Researchers in Demokritou's team can program such smart materials to act as sensors that activate and eliminate bacterial strains to ensure food arrives undamaged. Demokritou stated that this would address growing concerns about foodborne illness and reduce the incidence of food spoilage.  

Scientists at Harvard University conducting the research:

From the Disease Biophysics Group, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: Kevin Kit Parker, Huibin Chang, Luke Macqueen, Michael Peters and John Zimmerman; from the Center for Nanotechnology and Nanotoxicology, Environmental Health Department, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health: Jie Xu, Zeynep Aytaç and Tao Xu.   This news was provided by Rutgers University - Kitta MacPherson.   SOURCE