Looking at edible, and very tasty packaging

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As a leading authority on sustainable packaging, SPN is dedicated to bringing you the latest, ground-breaking developments. The latest cutting-edge technology comes to you in an easy-to-access colour-coded format issue by issue.

“ when you eat your dinner, instead of throwing the packaging away…. you eat it! “

One of the most exciting and ground-braking developments announced recently was by a leading research team at Harvard University, who developed a unique range of edible, and very tasty packaging! This new packaging is based on a substrate made from “Wiki-Cells”, and can be reproduced in limitless plant-based formulas. This simply means that when you eat your dinner, instead of throwing the packaging away…. you eat it!

The latest examples available of this new, exciting advance, includes Pumpkin Soup packaged in a spinach membrane, Lemon Juice packaged in a lemon membrane and Melted Chocolate packaged in a cherry membrane! The possibilities are endless…..as is the potential! The research has been led by Professor David Edwards, who claims that in the future, Wiki -Cells will help to create the most sustainable and bio-degradable packaging in the world.

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A micro-miracle

In another major development, a research team at Texas A&M University has developed what may possibly be the next food packaging miracle known as, micro-film. The material, which is thousands of times thinner than human hair, consists solely of water, a soluble polymer and 70% clay particles. While Jaime Grunlan, the associate professor who led the endeavour, asserts that the film is “basically dirt”, the packaging is significantly more eco-friendly than plastic, has the preservation qualities of glass and could hold the fizz in a soda better than anything currently on the market.

Meanwhile, Bayer, the global chemical and pharmaceutical company, has developed a plastic film called Durethan using clay nanoparticles that prevents oxygen, moisture and carbon dioxide from decomposing food products. Similarly, Nanocor, a nanoclay technology developer, has created nanocrystal-embedded plastic that prevents the escape of oxygen from beer bottles, significantly extending their shelf life by up to 18 months.

“ anti-microbial packaging does not just shield food from bacteria, it actively acts against it “ 8

While companies such as Pepsico and McDonald’s are still wary of any negative associations elicited by the word “nanotechnology”, the food and beverage industry is looking on with close interest, hoping that researchers can get a handle on micro packaging and how to use it safely and effectively.

Anti-microbial “Killer paper”

As packaging experts know, anti-microbial packaging does not just shield food from bacteria, it actively acts against it. An Israeli graduate student called Ronen Gottesman has produced a product that he calls, “Killer paper”.

This is an ‘antibacterial silver nanoparticle coated paper’ that fights to keep germs out of food. Gottesman said, “The smaller the size of the particles, the more effective they are against bacteria.” Similarly, Kodak is also generating special anti-microbial packaging that can absorb oxygen and thereby keep food fresher for longer.

A penchant for pouches

MonoSol, a U.S. water soluble product manufacturing company, has created Vivos edible delivery systems. Essentially, these are, food pouches that dissolve in water. The plastic film packaging, which dissolves faster under hot water, accordingly cannot be tasted when eaten.

MonoSol claims its product is ideal for ‘on-thego’ consumers and could be used to package such liquid-friendly items such as drink powders, cereals, soups and sauces. Whilst MonoSol contends they are fielding interest from multinationals, the technology would need to be customised to each individual product. Furthermore, it would still require secondary packaging to guarantee protection against contamination. Truly ground-breaking? Only time will tell.

Self-heating and self-cooling packaging

While consumers and industry executives have long fantasised about self-cooling and self-heating food and beverage packaging, the reality is that there is no record of any major commercial success so far. However, two recent innovations aim to change all that. While Joseph Company International launched the Chill Can last year without too much global fanfare, the 19-years-in-the-making, EPA Stratospheric Award-winning “Microcool” technology, adsorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere which is then released when the activitation button is pressed.

This causes the liquid inside the can to drop to 30 degrees Fahrenheit within a matter of minutes. Similarly, Crown Holdings have developed a self-heating component called Heat-Genie which can heat a product to 145 degrees Fahrenheit in two minutes and is embedded at the bottom of a product’s packaging. While the success of these particular technologies is yet to be fully proven, the convenience and marketing potential for temperature-changing packaging technology is obvious.

With thanks to Brand Studio, Harvard University and Texas A&M University.

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