Development of biodegradable packaging material with active properties for food preservation

The BioProtect project brings together Inventive and the Portuguese Catholic University (Escola Superior de Biotecnologia) in a consortium and aims to develop a compound with renewable raw materials to produce recyclable and biodegradable biomaterials. The material will be produced with specific functional agents to (i) improve the barrier properties to gases and moisture and (ii) the mechanical properties when compared to current products, and (iii) to play an active role in the preservation of fresh food.

The compound will be based on starch and a chemically modified polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), which acts as a binding agent (HBA), with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) which is a biodegradable aromatic-aliphatic copolyester., processable for food packaging applications. As a result, Inventive will be able to supply a compound for the production of PBAT-based food packaging materials with improved mechanical properties and gas and moisture barrier properties, ethylene absorption for better fruit preservation and with antimicrobial activity.

The material must have properties that allow its approval in terms of food contact, ability to be reincorporated in the industrial process, that is, with better recycling properties and the possibility of biodegradation when under suitable conditions. This new product line will provide a boost to innovation that should ensure the company's strategic development and market leadership in the future.

Development of a compound with renewable raw materials to produce recyclable and biodegradable biomaterials with better properties for food preservation.