Chennai: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has developed a sustainable anti-microbial wrapping material that can not only prevent packaged food contamination by bacteria as well as reduce the plastic waste generated in the environment when disposing of the wrappers. This biodegradable food wrapper has an in-built anti-bacterial compound and is safe for consumption.
This wrapping material can prevent bacterial contamination of packaged food products and also degrades quickly, which can result in reducing plastic waste and enhance the shelf life of packed foods
The IIT Madras Team was recently awarded the ‘SITARE- Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Appreciation 2020’ for their project. The researchers have also filed for an Indian patent. The research was led by Prof. Mukesh Doble, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, and Ms. Puja Kumari, Research scholar, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras.
Around 300 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced every year. According to waste management experts, only 9 per cent of all plastic waste gets recycled and about 12 per cent has been incinerated. Further, an estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food and 4,20,000 die every year.
Elaborating on their Research, Prof. Mukesh Doble, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, said, “Our idea is to design a food wrap that will address two major issues, namely Solid Waste and Food Contamination during storage due to bacterial growth. We have developed a biodegradable wrapping material with in-built antibacterial activity to prevent bacterial growth in stored food. The antibacterial compound should be safe for consumption as it is approved by the authorities and does not cause any toxicity.”
Further, Prof. Mukesh Doble said, “The wrapping material we have developed also degrades at various environmental conditions with the rate of degradation varying from 4 to 98 per cent in 21 days. The wrapping material degraded rapidly in moist conditions when compared to dry ones. Hence, our wrapper is eco-friendly and can play a major role in plastic waste reduction.”
The wrappers developed by IIT Madras researchers were made with Polymeric blends containing starch, polyvinyl alcohol, cyclic beta glycans (CBG). The composition was optimised to achieve the best film with a smooth texture, flexibility, uniform thickness and good clarity. The polymers used are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).