WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:
- Researchers from India and Russia have produced an edible food wrap made from a compound found in brown algae.
- The food wrap also contains ingredients that have antioxidant properties.
- The food wrap is water-soluble and safe for the environment and humans.
An edible food wrap produced by Indian and Russian scientists may just be the answer to the world’s problem on unrecyclable food packaging.
The food wrap is made of natural ingredients that are safe for both humans and the environment. It can be used for packaging produce, bakery products, meat, poultry, and seafood.
Published in the Journal of Food Engineering, the research describes three food film types based on the compound sodium alginate, a seaweed biopolymer extracted from brown algae.
Rammohan Aluru, senior researcher at the organic synthesis laboratory at Ural Federal University, and co-author of the paper explains that the molecules of sodium alginate have film-forming properties and that the compound works as “liquid-gel in an aqueous medium.”
The researchers cross-linked alginate molecules with ferulic acid (a derivative of cinnamic acid), a natural antioxidant, to produce a water-soluble food film that’s edible, strong, homogeneous, and more rigid to prolong the life of food products.
According to Grigory Zyryanov, professor of the Department of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry at Ural Federal University, “Food stays fresh longer due to the antioxidant components that slow down the oxidation processes.”
The food films dissolve in water by almost 90% in 24 hours.
Zyryanov also said that natural antiviral agents like garlic, turmeric, and ginger can be added to the films to prevent the spread of virus and extend the shelf life of food.
The authors said they did not use any special equipment for the production of the food films, and that the food films can be produced by food products and film manufacturers on an industrial scale.
Grigory Zyryanov said polymer production plants can also produce the food films as long as they meet the food production standards. Having an ocean nearby that can supply an inexhaustible source of algae will make the production even simpler, he added.
Scientists from the Sri Venkateswara and Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswavidyalayam Universities in India, with support from India’s University Grants Commission and the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology, made the research possible.
Sodium alginate is an edible biopolymer used as a thickener and stabilizer. Ferulic acid is an antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antitoxic, antiviral, antibacterial, hepato-, and cardioprotective properties.
Source: Good News Network
“What’s for dinner, hon?”
“Saran Wrap!”
Tin foil desert.
“The food films dissolve in water by almost 90% in 24 hours.“
How will that work for semi-liquid leftover scraps to bin and frozen foods thawing?
MAY NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD HELP. I’LL TRY IT.
Let’s see the way I understand this is a wrap that is consumable. Ok now everyone who goes through the store handles this product. Seems to me we are going to inhance some communicable diseases. Not a very good idea.
The Fear Mongers bitched about Paper and Trees, so they gave us the answer of FOAM and Plastic. Now that that turns into stupidity they want to give us another “Great Idea”
Had NEW YOUR Not been DUMPING TRASH for 200 years in the ocean and others given license to drop chite in the ocean instead of “BURNING IT” we wouldnt be 9iin this lace of stupidity
Burning it in indoor facilitates that reprocessed the smoke was the answer
The Fear Mongers bitched about Paper and Trees, so they gave us the answer of FOAM and Plastic. Now that that turns into stupidity they want to give us another “Great Idea”
Had NEW YORK Not been DUMPING TRASH for 200 years in the ocean and others given license to drop chite their trash in the ocean instead of “BURNING IT” we wouldnt be in this place of stupidity
Burning it in indoor facilitates that reprocessed the smoke was the answer and land fills for a while, the problem isnt GUNS its the people who use them as TRASH isnt the problem its the people who THROW it away and mouse it and try like Gas Stoves to Undo what works
Strap it over your head for quicker results.