Film made of crustacean. Food as a material for production of food packaging.

Waste containing chitin exceeds 250 billions tonnes every year and is particularly dangerous due to rapid deterioration and the negative influence both on terrestrial and aquatic environment. European researchers are working on a technology that would allow to recycle the waste into food and cosmetic packaging.

Chitin – glucose polysaccharide compound that is a component of exoskeletons of arthropods (crustaceans’ shells, wing covers of beetles) and cell walls of some fungi and bacteria. In terms of chemical structure it is similar to glucose, yet chitin contains much stronger intermolecular hydrogen bonding, which results in increased mechanical strength. European researchers noticed its potential for packaging industry and recently have been working on biomaterial dedicated to food from shrimp shells, which will have biodegradable and bacteriostatic properties.

Paulina Malińska

Research on new, eco-friendly food packaging is conducted within n-CHITOPACK project funded the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-INFRASTRUCTURES) that begun in November 2012 and is going to finish in October 2014. Four suppliers of packaging materials and three research centers from EU participate in it, under the leadership of Italian producer of cosmetic packaging – Mavi, based in Aprilia, Italy – the owner of production patent for chitin nanofibril. The aim of the project is to produce 100% biodegradable packaging from chitin nanfibril that, owing to its bacteriostatic properties, will help increase the competitiveness of containers from bio-materials and minimise the problem of disposing of these environmentally harmful waste.

Promising bioplastic

Chemically modified chitin polymer can be already found in the food industry in the form of edible films and as substance used to stabilise and thicken food. Furthermore, chitosan, a compound of glucose polysaccharide, obtained from chitin, is known for its ability to fight fungal infections in plants. “Used as an integral component of packaging it can have antibacterial effect. European Union has strict rules relating to this, and our task in n-CHITOPACK project is to show that active packaging based on nanotechnology does not constitute a threat for consumers’ health” – commented Morten Svertsvik, manager of the project carried out by Norwegian partner – the company Nofima. On the other hand, the project coordinator enumerated the advantages of food packaging containing chitin. “As our study shows, the purest chitin nanofibril, i.e. crystallin are non-toxic for human beings. As a part of the project we wish to prove that food or cosmetic packaging from this bio-material can be used in direct contact with the product and will not pose any threat to human health”- commented Pierfrancesco Morganti from University of Naples, who has specialised in the aspect of the use of chitin nanofibril in cosmetic industry since 2006. However, in order to achieve this it needs to be hydrolised in glucosamine or acetyl-glucosamine, or in CO2 and water. Chitin nanofibril obtained as a result of this process are supposed to have an advantage over the standard polyethilene – being an organic compound it can be digested by the human organism. “At the moment we are analysing the first results of studies over the film from this bio-material and comparing its properties with packaging available on the market. Yet, for the time being we are unable to say without any doubts that the assets of chitin nanofibrils outweight other materials, but the tests results are very promising” – added Pierfrancesco Morganti. If European researchers manage to produce “edible” chitin, we will definitely learn more about it.

n-CHITPACK project coordinator is an Italian producer of cosmetic products, the company Mavi based in Aprilia, Italy – which patented in 2012 the production of chitin nanofibrils for medical (its properties influence the process of surgical wounds healing), cosmetic, pharmaceutical and food use. Among other companies participating in the project can be found: Microtec from Padua – the producer of flexible packaging for food; Aroma System from Bologna – rigid packaging; Rodax Impex from Bucharest – laboratory equipment; Bizoon from Bremerhaven – consumers’ needs analyses; IMC University in Prague, Nofima from Tromos, Norway and INSTM from Florence – research on optimal composition of chitin nanofibril and its properties in food packaging in accordance with EU requirements.

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Editor's note

Who are we?

It protects, expands the expiry date, persuades. Packaging. Influenced by an intriguing design, often we decide to buy something on impulse, that wasn’t to be found on our shopping list. We are tempted by their beautiful forms, intrigued by embossed printing made by innovative, cutting-edge technology and by the use of unusual materials.