5 The immense contribution of plastic packaging products to plastic waste generation is mainly due to their very short lifetime, about 1 year in average, that forces a very quick turnover of materials with lack of economically viable recycling. For example, within Europe, one of the best global scenarios regarding the actions against plastic pollution, 24.9% of plastic waste is disposed of in landfills, 42.6% is used for energy production and 32.5% is recycled. Finally, many of the current plastic packaging items are made by combined polymers, making their recycling technologically challenging and non-economically sustainable. 2 Although the recycling of such non-biodegradable polymers comes as a better alternative, the gradual chemical deterioration during that process limits the further application of recycled plastics in food packaging. 1,4 The alternative of their incineration for energy recovery has a severe environmental impact, including the generation of toxic airborne particles and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, when they end up in landfills or the oceans, it takes hundreds of years to be biodegraded.

Their uncontrolled accumulation has raised profound concern about their deleterious effects to the environment. These products originate from non-renewable resources and, most importantly, are non-biodegradable. 3 Materials such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are nowadays the most used in the packaging sector, despite their high contribution to the accumulation of plastic waste in the environment. 2įrom the second half of the 20 th century, petroleum-based polymers increased in popularity and ended up dominating the food packaging industry thanks to their excellent properties, versatility, and low price. 1 Additionally, food packaging has several other functions, including marketing, information on the product's ingredients and expiry. Food packaging is mainly used to establish a barrier between the food and the environment in order to provide mechanical protection and to reduce food contact with spoilage factors, such as microorganisms, oxygen, and UV-light, as well as to avoid losses of flavors and odors, to extend food shelf life and quality. 1 Introduction 1.1 Current situation in food packaging: towards new biomaterials Nowadays, food packaging is an indispensable part of the food industry.

All the previously mentioned aspects are extensively reviewed in this manuscript, mainly considering the literature reported during the last five years including the research works of the authors in the field. We focus on simple and easily scalable procedures that either involve green solvents or require low-energy, and lead to films for food packaging or suspensions intended to be applied as coatings directly on fruit or other foodstuff surfaces. The obtained biocomposites, rich in natural polymers, as cellulose, pectin, starch, zein, etc., can actively protect the packaged food against oxidation or microorganisms, as long as they preserve the raw materials’ phytochemicals in their composition. The vegetal lignocellulosic and non-lignocellulosic agrowaste composition, processing methods, and properties of the developed biomaterials are addressed. This review aims to revise the various fruit and vegetable agrowaste-based bioplastic and biocomposite systems developed so far, with potential applications in food protection and shelf life extension. Recently, the preparation of bioplastics and biocomposites directly from the processing of agro-food residues via hydrolysis or digestion was proposed for the production of new added-value products that comply with zero waste and circular economy principles and are expected to impact the future of food packaging significantly. Furthermore, incorporating natural antimicrobials, antioxidants, and pH-sensitive substances in the new eco-friendly materials, smart and active green packaging can be developed. Research has focused on the engineering of renewable resources of animal or vegetable origin that are rich in polysaccharides and proteins, to produce green bioplastic materials for food packaging, with good mechanical and gas barrier properties. In recent decades, significant progress has been made on the development of low environmental impact plastic materials, as alternatives to conventional plastics for food packaging.

45 meg persecond vs 95 meg persecond