Perspective Chapter: Development of Food Packaging Films from Microorganism-Generated Polyhydroxyalkanoates

Abstract

Petroleum-based packaging (PBP) materials cause environmental pollution and toxic substance accumulation because they cannot decompose in nature for a long time. To prevent these problems, a wide variety of food packaging materials emerge as alternatives to PBP. Researchers have already discussed how polysaccharides and biopolymer-based nanocomposites are used in the development of food packaging films. This chapter, we will introduce how the microorganism-generated biopolymer, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) to be specific, is used in food packaging. PHAs, have positive social and environmental impact when compared to traditional plastics in terms of production and recycling. Considering that industrial wastes contain high quality polysaccharides, essential oils and proteins, using them in the production of biodegradable packaging will both reduce environmental problems and provide economic gain by reprocessing the wastes into products with higher added value. However, it has some disadvantages in competition with synthetic plastics and applications as biomaterials due to some properties such as poor mechanical properties, high production costs, limited functionality, incompatibility with conventional heat treatment techniques and susceptibility to thermal degradation. In this chapter, we will discuss the future and potential difficulties that may be experienced in the production or dissemination of PHA as a packaging material.

Advances in the Food Packaging Production from Agri-Food Waste and By-Products: Market Trends for a Sustainable Development

“…Awasthi et al and Pereira et al [87,88] reported the production of mcl-PHA using watermelon and apple PHAs are considered an alternative material for conventional plastics due to their similarity to petrochemically derived plastics, better hydrophobicity, relatively high melting point, and optical purity [83]. Current research demonstrates the existence of approximately 150 different PHAs [84], which gained worldwide interest because of their biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, and thermoplastic nature; the polymer characteristics are influenced by the number of carbon atoms present in each HA monomer unit [83].…”

“…Although PHAs' packaging application seems promising, it has some drawbacks that hamper its industrial production, including restricted functionality, incompatibility with traditional heat treatment processes, sensitivity to thermal degradation, and particularly high manufacturing costs [84,92]. It is therefore necessary to exploit cheap carbon sources such as agricultural waste for PHA production.…”

Natural Polyhydroxyalkanoates—An Overview of Bacterial Production Methods

“…PHAs are biodegradable in the environment due to their biological origin, while still retaining some characteristics of petrochemical plastics. These polymers are predominantly employed in the field of packaging [2,3], with ongoing research exploring their potential applications in the medical field [4] and in agriculture [5]. Figure 1 illustrates the general structure of PHAs.…”