Grant: Alliance Grants

Canada generates 11.2 Mmt of food waste each year. This generates 56.6 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions. Experts predict it will increase 20-fold by 2030. In addition to this food waste, 30% of all plastics (petroleum-based packaging, or PBP) are used to package food, making it one of the highest sources of environmental pollution. The production and processing of PBPs consumes energy, causing high GHG emissions and plastic pollution. There is a need to replace PBPs by bioactive bio-based polymers (BBBPs) which mimic PBPs performance and barrier characteristics while reducing CO2 emissions and reducing food waste. PBP production takes 65% more energy than BBBPs resulting in 70% more gas emissions than BBBPs. PBPs emit about 3.5 kgs CO2 eq/kg of product whereas poly lactic acid (PLA) emits about half. Production of BBBPs derived directly from biomass like we intend to use typically emit a third that of PLA and seven times less than PBPs. High gas barrier films from our BBBP inputs would consist of polysaccharides (PLS) and proteins (P) extracted from biomass ex: waste of wheat, onion or beer production and incorporating natural antimicrobial ingredients to combat cheese waste. This novel research uses food waste to produce low carbon footprint food packaging barrier films that are compostable and extend shelf life. The objectives are: 1-Extract PLS and P in food waste by-products; 2-Evaluate their functionality in mixtures; 3- Functionalize and crosslink for novel BBBPs flexible film development; 4-Incorporate bioactive compounds extracted from food waste; 5-Characterize the films; 6- Make in situ tests on cheese in collaboration with Alte Rego who will participate in the development and provide BBBPs flexible film and Fromagerie Bergeron who will participate in situ and pilot assay and share industrial need. 1-Nature Climate Change, 2019, 9, 374-8; 2-Procedia, 2015, CIRP 29, 462-467