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Biodegradable films and composite coatings: past, present and future

IR@CSIR-CFTRI

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Relation http://ir.cftri.com/1503/
TIFST_03_03
 
Title Biodegradable films and composite coatings: past,
present and future
 
Creator Tharanathan, R. N.
 
Subject 06 Packaging
 
Description Food packaging is concerned with the preservation and
protection of all types of foods and their raw materials,
particularly from oxidative and microbial spoilage and also
to extend their shelf-life characteristics. Increased use of synthetic packaging films has led to serious ecological problems due to their total non-biodegradability. Continuous awareness by one and all towards environmental pollution by the latter and as a result the need for a safe, eco-friendly atmosphere has led to a paradigm shift on the use of biodegradable materials, especially from renewable agriculture feedstock and marine food processing industry wastes. Such an approach amounts to natural resource conservation and recyclability as well as generation of new, innovative design and use. Their total biodegradation to environmentally friendly benign products such as CO2, water and quality compost is the turning point which needs to be capitalized and encashed. Polymer cross-linking and graft copolymerization of natural polymers with synthetic monomers are other alternatives of value in biodegradable packaging films. Although their complete replacement for synthetic plastics is just impossible to achieve and perhaps may be even unnecessary, at least for a few specific applications our attention and needful are required in the days to come. No doubt, eventually BIOPACKAGING will be our future.
 
Date 2003
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Rights —
 
Identifier http://ir.cftri.com/1503/1/Trends_in_Food_Science_%26_Technology_14_%282003%29_71-78.pdf
Tharanathan, R. N. (2003) Biodegradable films and composite coatings: past, present and future. Trends in Food Science and Technology, 14. pp. 71-78.