Environmental assessment of antimicrobial coatings for packaged fresh milk

Abstract

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Environmental assessment of antimicrobial coatings for packaged fresh milk AbstractAntimicrobial coatings are being increasingly used as a means to extend the shelf life of food products.This extension helps consumers cut down on the food waste generated at household level, while at the same time reducing the impact, which these products' life cycle has on the environment. The aim of this Life Cycle Assessment study is thus to assess the consequences on the environment arising from the application of an antimicrobial coating onto the packaging of a fresh milk product, while also taking into account the reduction in milk waste.The antimicrobial coating considered is a synthetic derivative of lauric acid. The application of the coating involves additional environmental impacts caused by all the inputs and outputs which occur during its life cycle. At the same time, however, the use of this coating allows to extend the fresh milk's shelf life with a consequent reduction in food waste.The data related to the production and application of the coating were provided by the packaging laboratory of the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (Valencia) and by manufacturing companies. The data related to food waste, milk processing, refrigeration transports, storage, and end of life of both product and packaging were obtained from previous studies, institutional reports and Ecoinvent database v2.2. The Midpoint Impact 2002 method was used to assess impacts.The results show how the reduction in milk waste achievable by using the coating generates higher environmental benefits than the impacts caused by the coating's life cycle due to milk saving.Furthermore this study demonstrates the importance of including food waste in Life Cycle Assessment studies of packaging systems. The connection between packaging design and food waste is a decisive aspect in the evaluation of actual environmental sustainability and should thus be considered in all assessments of packaging solutions.

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Packaging Systems for Extended Shelf Life Milk

“…In this field, most of the studies about LCA of packaging examined the impact of the packaging material and its disposal . Only in recent works, the phases of packaging production and use have been included in the analysis, sometimes also to evaluate the food losses generated as a consequence of the packaging characteristics and use . Depending on the type of food, the environmental impact of the packaging, compared with that of the contained food, may vary, reaching, for example, a high percentage for beverages or vegetables foods .…”

“…9 Only in recent works, the phases of packaging production and use have been included in the analysis, 10 sometimes also to evaluate the food losses generated as a consequence of the packaging characteristics and use. [11][12][13] Depending on the type of food, the environmental impact of the packaging, compared with that of the contained food, may vary, reaching, for example, a high percentage for beverages or vegetables foods. 14,15 Aware of these issues, some studies tried to define frameworks or guidelines to develop environmental sustainable packaging, focusing not only on the impact of the packaging materials but also on the preservation of its performance and on the impact of packaging technologies.…”

An economic-environmental analysis of selected barrier-coating materials used in packaging food products: a Swedish case study

“…packaging) would not be more than 15%, that of household food waste could be high as 26%. The role of packaging materials in preventing/reducing food waste is highlighted in Manfredi et al (2015). In this paper, the authors have contended that the environmental impacts reduced by avoiding wastage of milk are far greater than those caused by introducing an anti-microbial coating (a synthetic derivative of lauric acid) to milk packaging.…”

The environmental impact of packaging in food supply chains—does life cycle assessment of food provide the full picture?

“…Thus, they call for the indirect environmental impact of packaging to be included in environmental assessments of packaging (Verghese et al 2015;Williams and Wikström 2010). As a result, in packaging LCA literature, there are more and more published studies that follow these recommendations such as packaging LCAs that include food waste (Conte et al 2015;Gutierrez et al 2017;Manfredi et al 2015). In this article, we refer to packaging LCAs if the main purpose is to analyse the impact of a packaging system.…”

“…In packaging LCA literature from the last decade, several studies (e.g. Conte et al 2015;Manfredi et al 2015) analyse the indirect environmental impact of packaging in parallel to its direct. To our knowledge, there is no study that analyses if the indirect effects of packaging are considered in food LCA literature and, especially, if packaging recommendations in this literature take indirect effects in consideration.…”