Packaging you can eat

Edible wraps made of vegetables and fruits have been developed in the US. The products are water repellent, and according to the developers, contain the equivalent nutritional value of a fruit or a vegetable.

The wraps are made from a concentrated puree of fruit or vegetable. Vegetable oils are then added to ensure they are waterproof, and the film is then cut into pre-formed sheets or envelope shapes. Developer Tara McHugh, a food chemist at the department of agricultural research in California, says that an average pack size contains the equivalent nutritional value of a fruit or a vegetable.

"The wraps could provide a glaze or a sauce for cooking - you can use a tomato or ketchup flavour for hamburgers when you freeze them and cook the whole thing, wrap and all,"​ she told the Journal of the American Chemical Society.​

In addition, a recently published report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry highlights how the herb basil, when incorporated into plastic wrapping can enhance food safety. The basil, which has long been known to contain bacteria-fighting properties, is incorporated into the plastic wrapping to preserve foods.

The extracts methyl chavicol and linalool ooze out of the wrapping and slow the growth of eight types of lethal bacteria including E. coli and listeria. Experiments showed the wrapping extends the shelf life of cheese and most likely of meats, fish, baked goods, fruits and vegetables.

The research was also presented at the annual symposium of the International Packaging Research Institutes in Valencia, Spain by lead researcher Prof. Joseph Miltz of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Faculty of Food Engineering and Biotechnology, and by Profs. K. Sonneveld, S. Bigger and doctoral student Panuwat Suppakul from the Victoria University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia.

Basil is an ideal packaging choice because it doesn't impart its flavour to the foods since only small quantities of the extracts are needed; also, because the active chemicals come from a natural source they don't degrade into harmful by-products, Miltz explained.

Production of plastic wrapping is carried out at high temperatures, which cause evaporation of the basil-extract molecules. Additionally, the wrap is permeable, which allows the basil extracts to escape to the outside atmosphere.

To counter this, the researchers are developing a multi-layered plastic with an impermeable outer layer and porous inner walls that will limit the flow of basil molecules to the inside of the package only. Marketing of the basil wrap will follow these improvements.

Before these products get near the shelves however, they will have to pass stringent health and safety requirements. At present the situation is highly confused - the EU Directive (92/62/EC) has just been revised, and targets for packaging waste recovery and recycling have been increased. The definition of packaging has been amended and new prevention obligations have been introduced.

But the need for cutting edge technology in packaging has never been greater. Research points to a rising number of home-alone consumers with an increasing amount of disposable income.

For instance Datamonitor​ statistics show that more than one-third of European consumers live alone and are spending €140 billion a year on food, drinks and personal care products. In fact, single people spend 50 per cent more per person on consumer-packaged goods than a two adult household.