Uk-India group develops compostable film to extend the life of fruit and vegetables

A consortium of UK and Indian businesses and organisations has developed a new compostable film designed to reduce food and plastic waste. The new compostable plastic film, called BioFreshPak, was developed by a team of experts led by Nextek in the UK and MIT in India and backed by Innovate UK and the Newton Fund.

BioFreshPak is made from a blend of starch from cassava processing waste and other compostable polymers, and slows moisture loss and enhances storage stability of food during transport, even at high temperatures. The film is put forward as a compostable alternative to bio-based polymers for film such as PLA, which is slow to decompose outside of a controlled environment, and aims to keep food fresh for longer without using conventional plastic film, which is largely unrecyclable, especially in developing countries.

In India, where some 40 per cent of food is wasted before it even reaches the markets, the absence of appropriate packaging in supply chains can cause food to rapidly deteriorate. The prime target market will be India, where there has been a lot of interest from business, where composting, both at home and on an industrial-scale, is well established.

Source: Resource

Author: Kirsi Seppänen

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