Biodegradable Packaging Films for Enhancing Food Safety and Extending Shelf Life

Background

In today’s food packaging landscape, there is a need for materials that reduce reliance on conventional plastics. This need arises from increasing regulatory pressures and a growing public for alternatives that balance biodegradability with performance during storage and transportation. Many traditional biodegradable materials struggle to achieve mechanical strength and barrier properties needed for food safety. Additionally, controlling moisture dynamics and microbial growth remains a challenge, leading to spoilage and reductions in shelf life and consumer health.

Technology

This biodegradable film is produced using gelatin byproduct sourced from poultry, combined with starch, nanocellulose, glycerol, and water. The process involves controlled temperature conditions for dissolving and blending components followed by casting and drying to form a uniform film. Adjusting the concentrations of chicken gelatin (2–3%) and nanocellulose (0–4%) allows for tailoring key mechanical properties like tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, and punching force. Adjusting these ratios also allow tailoring of barrier performance and water vapor transmission. When infused with antimicrobial, this biodegradable packaging can slowly release antimicrobials like lactate diacetate, a commonly used antibacterial used with meat and poultry products that is considered GRAS by the FDA (Generally Recognized As Safe). The delayed release of lactate diacetate effectively controlled Listeria monocytogenes and spoilage microorganisms during prolonged refrigerated storage of ready-to-eat meat product.

Benefits

• Sustainable utilization and value-add for poultry byproducts. 
• Enhanced mechanical and barrier properties. 
• Antimicrobial control through delayed-release of FDA-approved substance(s). 
• Biodegradable alternative to conventional plastic packaging. 
• Potential for extended shelf-life of packaged foods.

Applications

• Antimicrobial meat packaging
• Sustainable food packaging
• Biodegradable wrapping films
• Ready-to-eat packaging solutions

Additional info

Biodegradable packaging material treated with lactate and diacetate was shown to effectively control microbial growth of Listeria monocytogenes over a 12 week period. Moisture from food products activate slow release of the antimicrobial. 

Auburn is looking for a licensee and development partner to facilitate further testing and development for production processes and scale up, shelf life studies, and demonstration for licensee’s specific applications of choice. Auburn can provide testing in retail and grocery store-like conditions, bacterial studies and analyses, and lab scale formulation adjustments for optimizing film mechanical properties.