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Sustainability
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Sustainable Materials for Food Packaging
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Sustainable Materials for Food Packaging

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Engineering and Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2019) | Viewed by 32216

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Andrea Munari

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: thermal properties; biopolymers; polyesters; biodegradable polymers; polymer synthesis; polymers for biomedical applications
Prof. Dr. Nadia Lotti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: polymer design; polymer synthesis and characterization; polymer modification; copolymerization; solid state properties; thermal properties and crystallization kinetics; mechanical characterization; bio-based monomers; bio-based polymers; nano-polymer; nanocomposites; gas barrier behaviour; polymer compostability; biopolymers for engineering tissue; polymeric for controlled drug delivery; biodegradation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food packaging is the largest growing industrial sector and is an integral part of food processing operations. Packaging has both technical and marketing functions. Its main role is to maintain the quality and safety of food during transportation. Preservation of food means its protection from physical, chemical, and biological hazards (oxygen, moisture, light, microbial contamination, etc.) during storage and distribution. Recently, highly engineered products, such as active and intelligent packaging, have entered the market. In addition, other packaging functions are important for a product success on the market: packaging has the duty to display, inform, sell, promote, and motivate the customers through messages and images.

Beside the primary functions of the food packaging materials, secondary issues of increasing importance are energy and material costs, recyclability, sustainability, stringent regulations on pollutants, and disposal of the packaging materials. Thus, the goal of food packaging is to maintain food safety and minimize the environmental impact of the packaging materials. Glass, metal, paper, and plastics are the four most important classes of materials employed in food packaging. To improve the barrier performances of the packaging materials, multifaceted techniques are available, such as polymer blending, multi-layered lamination, coatings, and incorporation of inorganic fillers or oxygen scavengers. However, these techniques are often not implemented, because of the complexity in manufacturing and the lack of recyclability of the finished products. The growing interest in sustainability is the driving force for the development of new packaging materials, characterized by minimum waste production, transport efficiency, and controlled after-use disposal and/or recycling.

This Special Issue aims to discuss new packaging solutions, focusing the attention on weaknesses and opportunities in view of a sustainable economic development of the packaging sector. This Special Issue will give a chance to both the academic and the industrial world to present innovative material solutions for sustainable food packaging.

Research papers, as well as reviews, are welcome.
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/WSF1/

Prof. Andrea Munari
Prof. Nadia Lotti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Packaging
  • Food Packaging
  • Plastics
  • Polymers from renewable resources
  • Polymers from food waste
  • Polymer blends
  • Packaging with sustainable features
  • Natural bio-polymers
  • Synthetic bio-polymers
  • Barrier properties
  • Recycling
  • Biodegradation
  • Multilayered materials
  • Paper

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 21955 KiB  
Article
Biodegradable Foam Cushions as Ecofriendly Packaging Materials
by Joo Seong Sohn, Hyun Keun Kim, Shin Won Kim, Youngjae Ryu and Sung Woon Cha
Sustainability 2019, 11(6), 1731; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061731 - 21 Mar 2019
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 8416
Abstract
In this work, a high-magnification extrusion-foaming technique for biomass-based biodegradable composite materials using water vaporization was examined. Starch was selected as the biomass and polylactic acid was selected as a biodegradable matrix resin. No additional plasticizer or additives were used in this extrusion-foaming [...] Read more.
In this work, a high-magnification extrusion-foaming technique for biomass-based biodegradable composite materials using water vaporization was examined. Starch was selected as the biomass and polylactic acid was selected as a biodegradable matrix resin. No additional plasticizer or additives were used in this extrusion-foaming process. The foaming ratio was deduced according to the conditions of the extrusion-foaming process to confirm the forming characteristics of the foaming materials. Scanning electron microscopy was performed to examine the morphology of the composite foam. To investigate the potential of the foam cushion as an ecofriendly packing material, we conducted experiments on its static compression and dynamic cushioning properties and examined whether its biodegradability could be controlled by varying the mixing ratio of the materials. Thus, we developed a water-foaming process that is ecofriendly and whose products can be recycled as compost after use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Food Packaging)
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21 pages, 949 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Environmental Sustainability of Food Packaging: An Extended Life Cycle Assessment including Packaging-Related Food Losses and Waste and Circularity Assessment
by Erik Pauer, Bernhard Wohner, Victoria Heinrich and Manfred Tacker
Sustainability 2019, 11(3), 925; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030925 - 12 Feb 2019
Cited by 130 | Viewed by 22447
Abstract
Food packaging helps to protect food from being lost or wasted, nevertheless it is perceived as an environmental problem. The present study gives an overview of methods to assess the environmental sustainability of food packaging. Furthermore, we propose a methodological framework for environmental [...] Read more.
Food packaging helps to protect food from being lost or wasted, nevertheless it is perceived as an environmental problem. The present study gives an overview of methods to assess the environmental sustainability of food packaging. Furthermore, we propose a methodological framework for environmental assessment of food packaging. There is a broad consensus on the definition of sustainable packaging, which has to be effective, efficient, and safe for human health and the environment. Existing frameworks only provide general guidance on how to quantify the environmental sustainability of packaging. Our proposed framework defines three sustainability aspects of food packaging, namely direct environmental effects of packaging, packaging-related food losses and waste, as well as circularity. It provides a list of key environmental performance indicators and recommends certain calculation procedures for each indicator. The framework is oriented towards the Product Environmental Footprint initiative and the Circular Economy Package of the European Union. Further research should develop a method to determine the amount of packaging-related food losses and waste. Moreover, future studies should examine the potential environmental benefits of different measures to make food packaging more circular. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Materials for Food Packaging)
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