be a further increase in these numbers in the coming years, both in their market share
as well as their patent grants.
Though the origin of such solutions was in Japan and the USA initially, they have
now crept into the formerly restrictive Europe (Ghaani et al. 2016). The latter further
indicates the growth in research interest in those particular problems in their markets
(Lee et al. 2015). These trends also suggest that active materials must be brought to
the market after proper and effective application and after their screening for meeting
legislative requirements. The changes that these materials may undergo with time
when in contact with food must also be considered (Realini and Marcos 2014).
15.8 Bioplastic: The Upcoming Food Packaging Material
The synthetic plastic used in the food packaged materials creates major problems
like toxicity, decomposition, and its accumulation in the environment. In some
cases, it induces the ecological impact very badly in case of landfills and also causes
water contamination. The solution to avoid these problems associated with synthetic
plastic would be the replacement of synthetic polymers by biodegradable polymers.
The bioplastic can be prepared on the basis of three combinations as follows:
• Petroleum-based bioplastic: These are synthesized from petroleum resources.
However, these are found to be biodegradable by nature at the end of their
functionality.
• Mixed source-based (bio- and petro-) bioplastic: These are synthesized and
developed with a combination of biobased and petroleum monomers.
• Renewable resource-based bioplastic: These are either synthesized naturally from
plants and animals, or from renewable resources.
Various categories of bioplastics have been illustrated in Fig. 15.6. In the present
days, bioplastic production contributes only one percent of 320 million tonnes of
plastic production annually. As per the report given by European Bioplastics, global
bioplastic production will be increased to 2.44 million tonnes in the year 2022 based
upon the demand and revolution for environmental sustainability (Rukhsana et al.
2019).
Bioplastic based food packaging system and its commercial applications have
been summarized in Table 15.5.
It was concluded that, PLA (polylactide) is mostly used in the market out of
various biobased materials commercially. However, main applications for
bioplastics are used for short shelf life products. Several researches on PLA based
packaging proved that they could replace the conventional packaging system. In one
study, the comparison of whole green peppers packed in a PLA based film and
LDPE (low-density polyethylene) was investigated. There was no significant difference in color, hardness, and ascorbic acid concentration was observed (Koide and
Shi 2007). It was also reported that PLA packaging is suitable for storage of fresh
orange juice at 4
C for 14 days. Moreover, the color changes, ascorbic acid
15 Film Based Packaging for Food Safety and Preservation: Issues and Perspectives
327
as well as their patent grants.
Though the origin of such solutions was in Japan and the USA initially, they have
now crept into the formerly restrictive Europe (Ghaani et al. 2016). The latter further
indicates the growth in research interest in those particular problems in their markets
(Lee et al. 2015). These trends also suggest that active materials must be brought to
the market after proper and effective application and after their screening for meeting
legislative requirements. The changes that these materials may undergo with time
when in contact with food must also be considered (Realini and Marcos 2014).
15.8 Bioplastic: The Upcoming Food Packaging Material
The synthetic plastic used in the food packaged materials creates major problems
like toxicity, decomposition, and its accumulation in the environment. In some
cases, it induces the ecological impact very badly in case of landfills and also causes
water contamination. The solution to avoid these problems associated with synthetic
plastic would be the replacement of synthetic polymers by biodegradable polymers.
The bioplastic can be prepared on the basis of three combinations as follows:
• Petroleum-based bioplastic: These are synthesized from petroleum resources.
However, these are found to be biodegradable by nature at the end of their
functionality.
• Mixed source-based (bio- and petro-) bioplastic: These are synthesized and
developed with a combination of biobased and petroleum monomers.
• Renewable resource-based bioplastic: These are either synthesized naturally from
plants and animals, or from renewable resources.
Various categories of bioplastics have been illustrated in Fig. 15.6. In the present
days, bioplastic production contributes only one percent of 320 million tonnes of
plastic production annually. As per the report given by European Bioplastics, global
bioplastic production will be increased to 2.44 million tonnes in the year 2022 based
upon the demand and revolution for environmental sustainability (Rukhsana et al.
2019).
Bioplastic based food packaging system and its commercial applications have
been summarized in Table 15.5.
It was concluded that, PLA (polylactide) is mostly used in the market out of
various biobased materials commercially. However, main applications for
bioplastics are used for short shelf life products. Several researches on PLA based
packaging proved that they could replace the conventional packaging system. In one
study, the comparison of whole green peppers packed in a PLA based film and
LDPE (low-density polyethylene) was investigated. There was no significant difference in color, hardness, and ascorbic acid concentration was observed (Koide and
Shi 2007). It was also reported that PLA packaging is suitable for storage of fresh
orange juice at 4
C for 14 days. Moreover, the color changes, ascorbic acid
15 Film Based Packaging for Food Safety and Preservation: Issues and Perspectives
327