A team of scientists from Rutgers and Harvard University recently developed a biodegradable spray-on food wrapper. The researchers believe this wrapper can preserve the shelf-life of food, reduce food and plastic waste, and increase food safety. In 2018, the United States generated 35.7 million tons of plastics, according to the U.S. EPA. That’s the equivalent of approximately 6.1 million male elephants, each weighing six tons – or 13,000 pounds. As of 2018, over 75 percent of plastics produced in the U.S. ended up in the landfill. And according to research published in Our World in Data, plastic packaging is the leading source of global plastic waste generation.
“Food waste and food safety are among the major concerns in our society, especially in the period of COVID-19,” Huibin Chang, a research associate in bioengineering at Harvard University who was involved in the development of the wrapper, tells Food Tank. Chang explains that most food wrappers today are non-biodegradable, leading to environmental pollution.
The spray on wrapper’s main ingredient is pullulan, an edible fiber that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “generally recognize[s] as safe” (GRAS). The mixture of the biodegradable polymer and non-toxic solvents can be rinsed off with water. “The goal of [the spray-on wrapper] project is to improve the shelf-life of foods with less amount [of] antimicrobial coatings using green processes,” Chang tells Food Tank.