Evaluation of the Food Contact Suitability of Aged Bio-Nanocomposite Materials Dedicated to Food Packaging Applications
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This paper is worthy to publication.
Please changes X axis on Figure 3. It should start at "zero".
I propose delete Figures 6 and shown results in Table.
Author Response
Reviewer 1: This paper is worthy to publication.
Please changes X axis on Figure 3. It should start at "zero".
I propose delete Figures 6 and shown results in Table.
Response to reviewer 1:
Point 1: The X axis on Figure 3 has been changed.
Point 2: The authors have taken note of the suggestion to replace Figure 6 with a value table and agree to follow this recommendation. However, it seems to us that a box-plot representation is more descriptive to better depict intergroup variation and evidence significant impact of the material ageing. Such a graphical representation is commonly used to compare the same character in two populations of different sizes which is indeed the case in our study.
Reviewer 2 Report
I point out as follows:
In Table 1: Why the degree of crystallinity (Xc%) increased by the UV irradiation? Although authors referred in reference 21 and 22, it has more better for readers to explain this mechanism clearly.
Author Response
Reviewer 2: I point out as follows:
In Table 1: Why the degree of crystallinity (Xc%) increased by the UV irradiation? Although authors referred in reference 21 and 22, it has more better for readers to explain this mechanism clearly.
Response to reviewer 2: The mechanism involved in the increase of the degree of crystallinity after UV irradiation is proposed lines 197-202. The explanations have been slightly modified.
Reviewer 3 Report
The scientific quality of the manuscript is fine. The only comments I have related to the use of the English language, I will give some comments either per paragraph or line number.
Ln 29: insert the word 'the', to read 'In the face ...'
in the first paragraph, the phrase 'appear as' is used 3 times. It is a very weak use of the English language. It is fine to use it once, but three times in the same paragraph is not good. Try to replace the phrase with something like: 'are considered'
ln 40: replace 'food contact' with 'to be in contact with food ...'
ln 42: replace the word 'conclude' with 'concluded'
Rewrite the last sentence (lns 44-49), the end of that sentence makes very little sense. Maybe that is because it is a very long sentence.
ln 56: rewrite as 'Biodegradable polymers are, by definition, unstable over time and subject to degradation.'
ln 64: what 'safety standpoint' are you referring to? Is it 'food safety'?, the say so.
ln 141: replace the word 'contaminated' with 'spiked'
ln 183: start the sentence with 'Our results indicate ...'
ln 233: you state "... addition of nanoclays appears to be contrasted ...". Contrasted to what?
Your data in Figs 4 and 5 look at '10 days of contact'. That is quite short. This means that your research is only applicable for packaging of foods with a relatively short use by date. The time food sits in a supply chain immediately post-production is very often longer than 10 days. In many instances, the food might not have made it into a supermarket within 10 days. I would like to see that you make it very clear that the material you looked at only applies to 'immediate, post-production sale' with a short shelf life.
Author Response
Reviewer 3: The scientific quality of the manuscript is fine. The only comments I have related to the use of the English language, I will give some comments either per paragraph or line number.
Ln 29: insert the word 'the', to read 'In the face ...'--> The word “the” has been inserted in line 29.
in the first paragraph, the phrase 'appear as' is used 3 times. It is a very weak use of the English language. It is fine to use it once, but three times in the same paragraph is not good. Try to replace the phrase with something like: 'are considered'--> Two of the three phrases containing “appear as” have been changed.
ln 40: replace 'food contact' with 'to be in contact with food ...'--> “Food contact” has been replaced with “to be in contact with food” in line 40.
ln 42: replace the word 'conclude' with 'concluded'--> The word “conclude” has been replaced with “concluded”
Rewrite the last sentence (lns 44-49), the end of that sentence makes very little sense. Maybe that is because it is a very long sentence.--> The sentence (lines 45-49) has been corrected.
ln 56: rewrite as 'Biodegradable polymers are, by definition, unstable over time and subject to degradation.'--> The sentence line 56 has been corrected.
ln 64: what 'safety standpoint' are you referring to? Is it 'food safety'?, the say so.--> "safety standpoint" has been replaced with “food safety standpoint”.
ln 141: replace the word 'contaminated' with 'spiked'--> The word “contaminated” has been replaced with “spiked”.
ln 183: start the sentence with 'Our results indicate ...'--> The sentence (line 183) has been modified with “The results indicate…”
ln 233: you state "... addition of nanoclays appears to be contrasted ...". Contrasted to what?--> The word “contrasted” has been changed with “variable”.
Your data in Figs 4 and 5 look at '10 days of contact'. That is quite short. This means that your research is only applicable for packaging of foods with a relatively short use by date. The time food sits in a supply chain immediately post-production is very often longer than 10 days. In many instances, the food might not have made it into a supermarket within 10 days. I would like to see that you make it very clear that the material you looked at only applies to 'immediate, post-production sale' with a short shelf life.--> The experiments were performed at 40°C for 10 days in order to respect the standard conditions recommended by Regulation 10/2011 for the evaluation of suitability for food contact of plastic materials. Moreover, the data reported in Figures 4 and 5 are in an equilibrium state, which means that the migration will not evolve after these 10 days. Thus, our research is not only applicable for packaging of foods with short use by date.
