Edible Food Packaging?

But some scientists, like chemist Javier Oses Fernandez from Public University of Navarre in Spain, believe that edible packaging is the way of the future. Using coatings made of food products that are completely biodegradable would reduce waste and could also contain additives that would better preserve the food or enhance its appearance.

The mesquite tree: the gum from this tree could soon be used in food packaging.

Fernandez has recently finished his PhD which investigates the effectiveness of different edible coatings derived from milk serum proteins, mesquite gum (a type of gum grown in dry areas of Mexico) and starches. Each of the materials was compared to synthetic wrappings and kept in a fridge for six months to see how their composition changed over time and with varying levels of humidity.

He found that a compound film combining mesquite gum, milk serum protein and large quantities of glycerol as a plasticizer was the most resistant. The film was especially useful in protecting fatty foods like nuts and meat that are susceptible to oxidation.

Will this type of food packaging reach the mainstream soon? The main obstacle seems to be cost as the product is very expensive to develop. Its immediate use only seems to make sense for foods that are heavily, and expensively, packaged - hence it is now being tested on Spanish sweet nougat which is currently sold with two layers of protective wrap. The rest of foods will have to wait their turn - although if it was up to me, I would cut down on packaging altogether. Most big grocery stores in the UK even shrink wrap their fruits and vegetables - and they look far less appetising to me than the unpackaged ones at the local greengrocer.

For more info:

Food Production Daily: Edible packaging seen as next wave of innovation
http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=70350-milk-serum-edible-recyclable

Food Ingredients First: Novel Packaging Technologies Maintain Functional Foods' Goodness
http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/newsmaker_article.asp?idNewsMaker=11951&fSite=AO545&next=pr