Yummo – edible plastic wrapping on the way
Edible wrapping could help solve the global plastic packaging plague – if the researchers who created it can prove it is non-toxic.
The new clear, plastic-wrap-like film combines by-products of corn oil production and the seafood industry with a common food additive that dissolves in water.
Because the product is made from natural sources it can theoretically be eaten by anyone.
Currently in the proof of concept stage, the product has the potential to replace common petroleum-based products, which can take hundreds of years to break down.
It is estimated the oceans are polluted with more than 150 million tonnes of plastic, and if trends continue, plastic will outweigh fish in the seas by 2050.
Otago University has funded the project to assess the product’s toxicity. Its team is led by Professor Indrawati Oey.
‘‘This toxicology test is a crucial step before we use it either for food or feed,’’ Oey said.
‘‘In theory, biomass materials are edible because it’s coming from food – it’s protein and carbohydrate.’’
It was combining the two and the process used to make the film that could be an issue.
Oey described the hunt for lowcost biodegradable and edible packaging as ‘‘a global priority’’.
The product could be available for production within a couple of years.
‘‘At this moment, we are looking for New Zealand companies hopefully who can adopt this technology.’’
PhD student Stephen Giteru, who is also working on the project, said future development could turn the film into hard packaging like milk bottles.
Efforts to combat the mountains of waste plastic building up around the world have increased in recent times.
Researchers in the UK and United States recently created an enzyme that ate plastic.
The enzyme, discovered in a Japanese recycling plant and tweaked by scientists, is able to break down the most common plastic – polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The mutant enzyme does it in only a few days – far faster than the centuries it takes in the oceans.