Bio-coating protects fresh food 50% longer

The coating, developed by the Rutgers School of Public Health, can be sprayed on food, washed before eating, and takes just three days to break down in the soil.

A team at the Rutgers School of Public Health, New Jersey, has developed a coating that can be sprayed on foods, keeping them fresh for 50% longer, the Mail on June 21 reported. They hope this plant-based coating will soon replace plastic bags in supermarkets.

Coating sprayed on food helps prevent rotting and bruising.

"We knew we needed to get rid of the oil-based food packaging out there and replace it with something more sustainable, biodegradable, and non-toxic. At the same time, we wondered if we could make the packaging. food packaging with the function of extending shelf life, reducing food waste and increasing food safety," said Philip Demokritou, a member of the research team.

"We found a scalable technology that turns biopolymers (which can be obtained from food waste) into smart fibers that are directly coated on food. This is part of the process. next generation food packaging, smarter and greener," he added.

The packaging uses fibers made of polysaccharide - the most abundant carbohydrate found in food. They are spun from a hair dryer-like heater, then wrapped in foods like avocados and steaks.

The fibers are impregnated with essential oils of thyme, citric acid and nisin - natural antibacterial ingredients that can fight rotting and pathogenic microorganisms such as E. coli and Listeria. The coating not only helps prevent food from spoiling, but it is also tough enough to prevent bruising, the team says.

When preparing food, the mulch can be washed off easily with water, then decomposes in the soil within 3 days. When tested on avocados, the team found that the coating increased the shelf life of the fruit by 50%.

The new method is also likely to scale up for more widespread adoption. While today's popular production techniques spin yarn at 0.01 grams per minute, the new technique produces yarns at a much higher rate, around 0.2 grams per minute.

The team hopes its coating will help reduce plastic use in supermarkets. "In the last 50 - 60 years, in the 'plastic era', we have released up to 6 billion tons of plastic waste into the environment. They decompose very slowly out there. Tiny pieces of plastic are getting into drinking water, food. eat and the air we breathe," Demokritou said.