‘Smart’ food packaging keeps fruit fresh
Researchers in Singapore and the US claim to have developed a ‘smart’ food packaging material that could extend shelf life of fresh fruit.
The team, from Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said its packaging material is biodegradable, sustainable and kills microbes that are harmful to humans.
According to researchers, the material could extend shelf life by two to three days. The natural packaging is made from a type of corn protein called zein, starch and other naturally derived biopolymers infused with natural microbial compounds. These include oil from the common herb thyme, and citric acid which is commonly found in citrus fruits.
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Described in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, the material was produced by electrospinning the zein and the antimicrobial compounds with cellulose, a natural polymer starch that makes up plant cell walls, and acetic acid which is commonly found in vinegar.
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