Plastic food packaging may be great at preserving food, but once discarded, it adds to the plastic waste in our environment, with the bulk of it ending up in landfills.
Now, aiming to have an effective environmentally friendly solution to plastic food wrap and containers, scientists have developed a biodegradable, antimicrobial, plant-based coating that can replace plastic food packaging.
Researchers at Harvard and Rutgers University have developed this plant-based coating. It can be sprayed on foods for enhanced protection against pathogenic, and to reduce spoilage and transportation damage. This coating will help reduce the adverse environmental impact of plastic food packaging while protecting human health against harmful bacteria such as listeria and E. coli.
This eco-friendly food packaging comes in the form of a spray that creates a plant-based coating on your food items, just like the webcast by Spider-man. The wrapping process is like products being “shrink-wrapped” using a heating device that resembles a hair dryer. The coating degrades in soil within three days and can be easily rinsed off with water.
There is still some time before we see this coating more commonly, but it sure has the potential to put a full stop to the havoc plastic food wraps wreaking on our planet.
