Search Results (4)

Food loss and waste have been identified as significant contributors to existing environmental challenges. Previous studies have extensively quantified losses and waste throughout the value chain. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the influence of packaging design on food residue quantities. This study analyses the technical emptiability of dairy product packaging, building upon previously described methods and proposing new methods for a standardized analysis. The results demonstrate significant variations in residue amounts depending on product type, fat content, viscosity, packaging type and design, as well as consumer handling. The findings indicate that residues of high-viscosity products, such as yoghurt drinks and buttermilk, can accumulate to a level exceeding 4% of the total filling weight in the packaging; meanwhile, the residues of low-viscosity products, such as milk, collectively represent less than 1% of the total filling weight. Consumer handling instructions on packaging significantly reduce residues, as shown by the instruction to shake before opening, which notably decreases the residues of high-viscosity products. Future legislation to minimize food waste and reduce the environmental impact of packaging will necessitate that the packaging industry produces easy-to-empty packaging. This will improve sorting, recycling, recyclate quality, and environmental impact, consequently enhancing the sustainability of dairy packaging. Full article

In the current work, a super-repellent biopaper suitable for food contact applications was developed. To do this, three different kinds of biopolymers, namely polylactide (PLA), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), and hydrophobic silica microparticles (SiO₂), were sequentially processed by electrohydrodynamic processing (EDHP). As a first step, the ultrathin biopolymer fibers were deposited onto a commercial food contact cellulose paper by electrospinning and, thereafter, the nanostructured silica was sequentially electrosprayed. The multilayer coated papers were annealed at different temperatures to promote adhesion between the layers and enhance the super-repellent properties. The developed coatings were characterized in terms of morphology, permeance to water vapor, adhesion, mechanical resistance, and contact and sliding angle. The resultant multilayer biopapers presented a hierarchical micro/nanostructured surface with an apparent water contact angle (WCA) higher than 155° and sliding angle (SA) lower than 10° for all the tested biopolymers used. Among the different multilayer approaches, it was observed that the paper/PHBV/SiO₂ showed the best performance, in terms of water vapor permeance; resistance after the tape peeling-off test; and food super-repelling properties to water, yogurt, and custard. Overall, this study presents the successful generation of super-repellent biopapers coated with PLA, PCL, or PHBV along with hydrophobic silica microparticles and its effectiveness for easy emptying food packaging applications to reduce food waste. Full article

The intention of this paper is to learn more about why consumers choose whether or not to recycle, with special attention given to the functions of the packaging itself, in order to provide suggestions for improvements in packaging design, recycling systems and the environmental assessment of different packaging designs. The study focussed on ten households in Sweden that where motivated to participate in the study in order to gain an understanding of the complex matter of this decision-making process. The intention of implementing an interview-based qualitative study was to gain rich data and to reach beyond the respondents’ immediate verbal responses. The respondents were interviewed with open-ended questions, which were supported with pictures of packaging; additionally, their waste bins were examined. This explorative study suggests a set of obstacles that cause consumers to dispose of packaging relating to the functions of packaging. The different obstacles that determine whether or not packaging is recycled were organised according to three different themes: the attitude towards cleanliness, the effort required to clean and sort and uncertainties about the best environmental alternative. The different functions of packaging do in fact influence all of the identified themes and; therefore, influence the decisions consumers make with regards to the recycling of specific packaging. The identified packaging functions were easy to separate different materials, easy to separate different parts, easy to clean, easy to empty, easy to reseal, easy to compress and communication regarding recycling. Consumer behaviour with regards to specific packaging functions and recycling should be further investigated. It should also be considered for inclusion in design processes, to increase the chance of materials being recycled, and in food-packaging life-cycle assessments, to provide results that align more closely with reality. Full article

Interest in coated films with micro/nanofeatures has grown rapidly in recent years due to their enhanced functional performance and better durability under demanding contact conditions or aggressive environments. In the current work, it is reported a one-step co-continuous bilayer coating process to generate a multilayer film that rendered superhydrophobicity to a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. A continuous coating based on ultrathin polylactide (PLA) fibers was deposited onto PET films by means of electrospinning, which increased the water contact angle of the substrate. Sequentially, nanostructured silica (SiO₂) microparticles were electrosprayed onto the coated PET/PLA films to achieve superhydrophobic behavior. This multilayer was then treated at different annealing temperatures, that is, 150 °C, 160 °C, and 170 °C, in order to create interlayers’ adhesion to each other and to the substrate. It was found that co-continuous deposition of PLA fibers and nanostructured SiO₂ microparticles onto PET films constituted a useful strategy to increase the surface hydrophobicity of the PET substrate, achieving an optimal apparent water contact angle of 170° and a sliding angle of 6°. Unfortunately, a reduction in background transparency was observed compared to the uncoated PET film, especially after electrospraying of the SiO₂ microparticles but the films were seen to have a good contact transparency. The materials developed show significant potential in easy emptying transparent food packaging applications. Full article