Sustainable Bioplastics

Biography

Biography: Lucía Famá

Abstract

Packaging has a key role in containing and protecting food since it is highly manipulated by producers and consumers. However, packaging materials are one of the main solid wastes in major cities of the world. Cassava starch constitutes a useful alternative to develop eco-friendly materials to replace that from petroleum due to its advantages such as biodegradability, low cost and availability. The incorporation of additives from natural sources into starch films is a new strategy to improve the shelf-life of food products and the functionality of a packaging. In this sense, antioxidants (yerba mate extract), proteins (from lentil) and micro/nano fillers (from lentil and starch) were investigated because the important properties that they can transmit to a food product such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagen, or protean effects, and as reinforcement of food packaging. Starch-glycerol films with antioxidants and protein presented improvements in the strain at break, showing materials with more flexibility, as a typical behavior of a plasticized film. The plasticizing effect of these additives was also confirmed from water vapour permeability, thermogravimetric and mechanic dynamic properties. The use of lentil microparticles and starch nanoparticles showed significant reinforcing effect. The effects observed on cassava starch based films, derived from the incorporation of antioxidants, protein and particles, makes us to think about the different potential uses of these films as coating and/or packaging of food products in order to retard their oxidation, avoid chipping or cracking during handling, increase their shelf life, and/or as reinforcement of their cover.