New Bioplastic packing material-Poly butylene succinate for food packing

For any food to be preserved after it is processed needs a packaging material to keep out vectors, air, water and external flavor taints. The world has been used to the fossil fuel based packaging materials since long which offer a wide variety of them with different functional properties and no one thinks seriously what will happen once fossil fuels run out as they are non-renewable in nature. Not that world is not concerned about this because there are attempts here and there to develop new packaging materials based on renewable sources though their production is not very substantial yet compared to conventional plastics now in vogue. A major demand from the consumer and policy makers is that such plastics should be biodegradable as current plastics some time take as much as 800 years to degrade in soil after disposal. While biodegradable plastics are now being produced they need not necessarily be natural plant based and also all bioplastics are not necessarily biodegradable. The new breed of bioplastics now being touted around comes through fermentation route deploying microorganisms. Here is some information regarding the recently developed bioplastic from succinate generated by fermentation of organic carbon sources from plants.

"The research consortium has developed a way to mass produce succinic acid, one of the major ingredients of PBS. To do so, they use bacteria to convert the glucose in the "feedstock", or the raw material used to produce such bioplastics, such as wheat. "The idea is to replace the succinic acid coming from petrochemicals with bio-resourced products such as plant waste and materials from plants in agriculture," says Christophe Cotillon, project coordinator and deputy manager of the French Association for the Technical Coordination of the Agrifood Industry (ACTIA), headquartered in Paris, France. PBS has "similar qualities as existing packaging, for the interaction between the food and the packaging and in terms of texture and transparency," Cotillon tells youris.com.  In tests, bio-resourced PBS was a better oxygen barrier than other bioplastics. Water barrier properties, however, need more tweaking to compete with existing packaging at keeping out water which can spoil dried food and promote microbial growth and contamination. The packaging has already been successfully tested for ricotta cheese and for beef. This product presents quite a few additional advantages. Bioresourced PBS can be used in existing production lines, meaning no financial penalties for manufacturers switching to greener materials. "Industry gets the same properties for approximately the same cost, and using the same machines," says Cotillon. Bio-resourced packaging also boosts brands' eco credentials. "If you tell the consumer that they are using bio-resourced packaging, they will prefer the idea to preserve nature." The manufacturing process could be made even greener by using energy from renewable resources, or by optimising the manufacturing process. To compete against petrochemical-based plastics, bioplastics need to meet several requirements. "If we want to push this material, we have to have better properties at the same costs," says Cotillon, "A future development step will be to improve the quality by coating the surface. And we can mix the molecules with other bio-resourced molecules to make a better quality of packaging." Bioplastics, however, could raise public concern in that it could be grown on land that would otherwise be used for food crops, and reduce food availability. "Certainly food competition is a problem," says Markus Schmidt, research associate in the Department of Materials Development, Fraunhofer Institute, in Freising, Germany. "In my opinion it would be best to use real waste products or by products from food manufacturing so there is no food competition." A statement that meets Cotillon's opinion "the biosources for PBS packaging can come from plant waste." Consumers could also struggle to distinguish between biodegradable and bio-resourced. "The feedstock used [to produce bioplastics] has nothing to do with whether a material is biodegradable or not," says Kristy-Barbara Lange, head of communication at the industrial organisation European Bioplastics, "this is a misunderstanding often encountered. Biodegradability depends on the chemical structure of a material." The biodegradability of SUCCIPACK, explains Cotillon is "the same as petrochemical or current packaging."

The technology development cannot automatically lead to acceptance by the user industry, especially food processing industry for which there are strict functional and safety requirements. According to available information provided on this new plastic material, succinate based bioplastics are compatible with products like cheese and frozen meat but cannot fare well when it comes to packing moisture sensitive foods. Probably further modifications may be required to improve moisture impermeability by modifying the surface through secondary coatings and this should be technically feasible with the available knowledge in coating technology. Also relevant is the costing and unless succinate based bioplastics can compete with fossil fuel based materials currently available, it may face a rough time in the market. A big controversy that may follow such fermentation driven plastic materials is the desirability of using edible plant foods for non-food purpose, as such a "pull" might affect the food supply chain adversely. The contention that food wastes can be a feed source may work out if provend true.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

SPECIAL METALS AS SENSORS- NEW DEVELOPMENTS

A recent report regarding the potential for the use of Rhodium metal for food safety practices sounds interesting though its precise impact cannot be predicted now. Characteristic colors exhibited by the Rhodium complexes in presence of gases like oxygen, nitrogen or carbon monoxide may enable food scientists to incorporate such composite materials inside the packaging and if there is any color change when the consumer is buying these packs, it might be a sure sign of tampering of the packet or if a nitrogen packed food packet changes color to one that is not characteristic of nitrogen-Rhodium complex, it might mean that there was a leak of this protective gas endangering the contents. Here is a take on this new development.

"Modified metals that change colour in the presence of particular gases could warn consumers if packaged food has been exposed to air or if there's a carbon monoxide leak at home. This finding could potentially influence the production of both industrial and commercial air quality sensors. "We initially found out by accident that modified rhodium reacts in a colorful way to different gases," says Cathleen Crudden, a professor in the Department of Chemistry. "That happy accident has become a driving force in our work with rhodium." Rhodium that is modified using carbon, nitrogen or hydrogen–based complexes changes to yellow in the presence of nitrogen, deep blue in the presence of oxygen, and brown in the presence of carbon monoxide. This color change occurs because of the way that the gases bind to the compound's central metal, according to the researchers. Another remarkable aspect of this discovery is that the chemical changes take place without disrupting the exact placement of each individual atom in the compound's crystalline lattice. Dr. Crudden notes that this type of transformation is virtually unprecedented. Rhodium is the main metal used in the production of catalytic converters to reduce the toxicity of car exhaust emissions. Dr. Crudden's team, including graduate student Eric Keske and postdoctoral fellow Dr. Olena Zenkina, is currently investigating whether cobalt, a significantly cheaper metal than rhodium, reacts similarly".

Lot needs to be done in converting this new idea into a commercial application mode and if the findings are really reliable, it is a question of time before Rhodium complex containing printing inks or strips are designed for incorporating into food packs. The limitation is mainly about the effect of Rhodium ions leaching into the food and the effect of such migration on human health. Another road block could be the exorbitant cost of this metal and it is unlikely that low cost food product packs could afford it. If Nickel is as efficient as Rhodium, this line of investigation may get a fillip.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FOOD PACKING MATERIALS-NEW RISKS FROM MIGRATORY CHEMICALS

There is no denying the fact that advent of plastics has revolutionized the way foods are prepared, packed and sold to the consumers all over the world. No processed food can be free from contaminating chemicals migrating from the packaging material into the contents by direct contact either during preparation or packing. Safety of plastics that go in for food packing is governed by the quality specifications arrived at and agreed to universally through well designed tests and assessment procedures. Even then there is nothing like absolute safety when it comes to plastics compared to glass or stainless steel. Recent revelation that clearing the chemical Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphate Esters (PAPs) in making wrappers for many foods is under a cloud because of ignoring the effect of its break down product Perflourinated Carboxylic Acids (PFCAs) under earlier studies. Here is a take on this new development which may call for re-assessment of the safety of wrappers containing PAPs.

"Chemicals that line everything from fast-food wrappers to linings in pizza boxes can migrate into food, then get ingested and cause chemical contamination in the blood, according to new research from scientists at the University of Toronto. Perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) are the breakdown products of chemicals used to make non-stick and water- and stain-repellent products, including food packaging. PFCAs are found in the human body all over the world. According to the UT scientists' research, much of this chemical residue in the bloodstream may come from the consumption of polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters (PAPs), grease proofing agents applied to paper food packaging such as fast-food wrappers and microwave popcorn bags. In the study, rats were exposed to PAPs either orally or by injection and monitored for a three-week period to track the concentrations of the PAPs and PFCA metabolites, PFOA, in their blood. Human exposure to PAPs had already been established by the scientists in a previous study. Researchers used the PAP concentrations previously observed in human blood together with the PAP and PFCA concentrations observed in the rats to calculate human exposure from PAP metabolism. They found the concentrations of PFCA metabolites to be significant, indicating that metabolism of PAPs could be a major source of human exposure to these chemicals. "The reason these chemicals were originally approved to be applied to paper food wrappers is because their acute toxicity is low," said Jessica D'Eon, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of chemistry at the University of Toronto and the paper's lead author. "But the product they're metabolized into, PFCAs, has a much longer lifetime in the body—almost five years. Our study confirms that you could have relatively low exposure to PAPs, and still have relatively high concentration of PFCAs in the body."

Though the above findings need to be confirmed by more authentic investigations, nonetheless doubt has been cast on safety of many packing materials and non-stick cooking paraphernalia containing PAPs currently being used. Probably packaging industry may come up with alternate chemicals with much more safety credentials so that PAPs are slowly phased out. The necessity for close and continuous vigilance of packaging materials used by the food industry for achieving increased margin of safety for the consumers cannot be overstated in view of the above developments.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FOOD PACKAGING-BOOM TIME AHEAD?

Packaging of a food is necessitated by the need for the contents to be preserved for sufficient time till it is delivered to the consumer. While functional packaging will ensure the quality, design of the packs serves to attract the consumers while they are on the market shelves. The choice of packaging material and the design of the pack will depend on the product price. Higher the value of the content, more room is available for the manufacturer to use expensive packing mode. From the simple poly ethylene pouches that were common 4-5 decades ago, the industry has graduated to more complex packaging systems involving multi layer laminates with sophisticated printing, performing as well as solid packaging materials like metal and glass. According to some projections, food packaging in India is slated for unparalleled innovative achievements in the coming years.

"Demographic and food consumption changes in Indian society means that consumers are turning in increasing numbers to packaged and ready-to-eat foods. The group said a recent analysis had revealed the emergence of four major trends driving packaging innovation in the sub-continent: convenience of usage, freshness and improved shelf life, sustainability, and packaging as a tool to position and promote the brand".

The "small pouch" revolution that has been in the making during the last few years made it possible for practically any product costing as high as Rs 300 per kg to be within the reach of low income population. The retail shops in the informal sector offer at least two dozen products in the price range Re1 to Rs 10 per unit, sufficient for consumption by one or two. These pouches are mostly made out of laminates of metalized polyester and polyethylene available in the country with dependable performance in terms of gas and water permeability. With the Rs 1 lakh crore (1000 billion) investment in food industry envisaged by GOI during the next few years, packaging industry is indeed heading for a boom time.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

POLY LACTIC ACID-THE NEW "GREEN" PLASTIC MATERIAL

Fossil fuel based packaging materials have dominated for the last 6-7 decades making them omnipotent and their influence on day to day life of the common man is alarming. Though every one knows that these packaging materials are not environment-friendly, their convenience of use makes it difficult to wean people away from them. Regulating their use by the public by mandatory actions also does not seem to be succeeding, probably because of alternate option not being available to the public. Bio-degradable packing materials are increasingly being used though their availability in required quantities is uncertain. Reported development of a lactic acid based plastic material, commercially available and easily degradable within 90 days, therefore is a welcome news for the food industry.

"Poly Lactic Acid is a renewable plant based material, produced from the fermentation of starch from crops, (most commonly cornstarch or sugarcane in the United States), into lactic acid that is then polymerized. Its blends are used in a wide range of applications including computer and mobile phone casings, foil, biodegradable medical implants, molds, tins, cups, bottles and other packaging".

The ability of this bio-plastic to withstand temperatures up to 105C, its recycling properties and ease of usability make it an acceptable material for many applications including fabrication of containers, bottles, cups, etc. Its easy biodegradability without releasing any toxic substances to the environment unlike other plastics which take 700 years to degrade, makes it a 'green' packaging option with low carbon foot print.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com