Paper-based Food Packaging Research Articles

Suitability of poly(butylene succinate) as a coating for paperboard convenience food packaging

ABSTRACT Take out and convenience food packaging has seen rapid growth in recent years, particularly in the last few months due to restrictions of in-restaurant dining. Paper-based packaging is often thought to be a more sustainable option to plastics. However, paper-based food packaging materials generally require supplemental treatments, such as applications of perfluorinated chemicals and petroleum-based plastics to improve performance. These are effective but limit sustainable end-of-life options (e.g., recycling and composting). Landfill diversion strategies are needed to divert food packaging waste as consumer demand for ready-to-eat (RTE) convenience meal kits and single-use packaging continues to increase municipal solid waste accumulation. This investigation evaluated the suitability of poly(butylene succinate; PBS) as a direct-melt coating on recycled paperboard for grease resistance in microwave rapid reheat and heat and hold convenience food packaging applications. This research demonstrates PBS as a viable alternative to perfluorinated chemicals and petroleum polymers with a more sustainable end-of-life option due to its oil migration resistance at elevated temperatures and compostability properties.

Alginate and Chitosan as a Functional Barrier for Paper-Based Packaging Materials

Paper-based food packaging materials are widely used, renewable, and biodegradable. Because of its porous structure, paper has poor or no barrier performance against grease, water vapor, water, and volatile organic compounds. Moreover, recycled paperboard can be a source of organic residuals that are able to migrate into packed food. Two different types of paperboard produced from primary and secondary cellulosic fibers were coated using renewable materials, such as alginate and chitosan, and comprehensive barrier measurements showed multifunctional barrier properties of these two biomaterials. Both paper substrates were successfully coated using a draw-down coater, and the measured air permeability of the coated samples was 0 mL·min−1. Grease resistance was improved, while it was possible to reduce water vapor transmission, the migration of mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons and mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOSH/MOAH), and the permeation of volatile compounds for both paper substrates when compared with uncoated substrates. Wettability and water absorptiveness of chitosan- and alginate-coated papers were found to be substrate-dependent properties, and could be significantly affected by bio-based coatings. In summary, industrially produced paperboard was upgraded by coating it with the naturally biodegradable biopolymers, alginate and chitosan, thus achieving extraordinary barrier performance for various applications within the packaging industry.

FDA prohibits outdated food wrapper chemicals

Two grease-repelling perfluorinated chemicals that were formerly used in paper-based food packaging are no longer allowed in the U.S. in such products, under a Nov. 22 regulation from FDA. The two ...

Self-assembled micro-structured sensors for food safety in paper based food packaging.

Natural self-assembled microstructured particles (diatomaceous earth) were used to develop a gas sensor paper with detection mechanism based on visible and distinct color changes of the sensor paper when exposed to volatile basic nitrogen compounds. The coating formulation for paper was prepared by applying diatomites, polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), and pH sensitive dyes on acidic paper substrate. The surface coating was designed to allow a maximum gas flow through the diatomite sensors. The produced sensor paper was tested for sensitivity using different ammonia concentrations and we observed a sensitivity lower limit at 63 ppm. As a comparison, the results show comparable sensitivity levels to carbon nanotube based sensor technologies reported in literature.

Migration kinetics of mineral oil hydrocarbons from recycled paperboard to dry food: monitoring of two real cases

Mineral oil hydrocarbons present in printing inks and recycled paper migrate from paper-based food packaging to foods primarily through the gas phase. Migration from two commercial products packed in recycled paperboard, i.e. muesli and egg pasta, was monitored up to the end of their shelf life (1 year) to study the influence of time, storage conditions, food packaging structure and temperature. Mineral oil saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons (MOSH and MOAH, respectively), and diisopropyl naphthalenes (DIPN) were monitored using online HPLC-GC/FID. Storage conditions were: free standing, shelved, and packed in transport boxes of corrugated board, to represent domestic, supermarket and warehouse storage, respectively. Migration to food whose packs were kept in transport boxes was the highest, especially after prolonged storage, followed by shelved and free-standing packs. Tested temperatures were representative of refrigeration, room temperature, storage in summer months and accelerated migration testing. Migration was strongly influenced by temperature: for egg pasta directly packed in paperboard, around 30 mg kg−1 of MOSH migrated in 8 months at 20°C, but in only 1week at 40°C. Muesli was contained into an internal polyethylene bag, which firstly adsorbed hydrocarbons and later released them partly towards the food. Differently, the external polypropylene bag, containing pasta and recycled paper tray, strongly limited the migration towards the atmosphere and gave rise to the highest level of food contamination. Tests at increased temperatures not only accelerated migration, but also widened the migration of hydrocarbons to higher molecular masses, highlighting thus a difficult interpretation of data from accelerated simulation.

Effect of moisture content on tensile properties of paper-based food packaging materials

Tensile properties (tensile strength and elongation at break) of 3 selected paper-based packaging materials, such as a vegetable parchment (VP) paper, a Kraft paper, and a solid-bleached-sulfate (SBS) paperboard, were determined with varying moisture contents. The monolayer moisture content of the paper samples determined using the Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) model were 3.45, 3.01, and 3.18 g water/100 g solids for the VP paper, the Kraft paper, and the SBS paperboard, respectively. Tensile strength and flexibility of paper samples was greatly influenced by the moisture content depending on the paper materials and paper manufacturing directions. However, the tensile properties of the paper samples maintained up to the monolayer moisture content, which corresponds to the water activity (Aw) of around 0.4 at 25°C.