The NanoPack project aims to prolong the shelf-life of food products by up to 25% — helping to reduce 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste annually

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In its latest test, the NanoPack film was able to increase saleability of fresh cherries by 40% (Credit: Pixabay)

Launched in 2017, the NanoPack project was set-up to develop a higher quality of packaging that both enhances food safety and reduces product waste. NS Packaging’s Thomas Parker looks back over the scheme’s development and what it aims to achieve in the future.

The United Nations‘ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says roughly one-third of all food produced for human consumption annually – about 1.3 billion tonnes – is either lost or wasted.

This wastage amounts to roughly $680bn in industrialised countries and $310bn in developing nations, with fruit and vegetables among foods with the highest wastage rates.

The FAO say that Europe wastes the second most amount of food per capita in the world, behind only North America and Oceania.

In an attempt to curb this issue, the EU charged NanoPack, led by public research university Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, with the task of developing packaging that can enhance the safety of food while also reducing the amount of waste.

 

History of NanoPack

NanoPack was awarded €7.7m ($8.5m) by the EU in 2017 as part of Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme.

The EU’s biggest research and innovation fund, Horizon 2020 is a flagship initiative to drive economic growth and create jobs, with nearly €80m ($88.6m) of funding available between 2014 and 2020.

NanoPack was set-up with the aim of developing antimicrobial packaging for perishable foods — which kills microorganisms and is commonly used to treat bacterial infections

Project coordinator Professor Ester Segal said at its launch: “NanoPack will demonstrate a solution for extending food shelf life by using novel smart antimicrobial surfaces, applied in active food packaging products.

“NanoPack will enhance food safety for consumers by significant growth inhibition of food-borne microbes, which in turn will prevent food-borne illness outbreaks and early spoilage.”

The project held its opening conference at the facilities of innovation and training centre Bio Base Europe in the Belgium’s historic city of Ghent, with 18 partner organisations in attendance.

These partners include Constantia Flexibles International, the world’s fourth-largest producer of flexible packaging and labels, dairy company Arla Foods and the European Food Information Council.

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NanoPack held its opening conference at the facilities of Bio Base Europe in Ghent, Belgium (Credit: Pixabay)

The first pilot-scale development of NanoPack packaging films took place in 2018 at Constantia Flexibles’ production site in Vienna.

Two different NanoPack packaging films were produced, firstly a multi-layer polyethylene cast and film coated aluminium foil.

The second developed polymer resins which contained halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) — naturally occurring tubular clay nanomaterials and have antimicrobial properties — with a mixture of natural essential oil used in both film production techniques.

NanoPack is currently exploring use of HNTs for mass-scale industrial food packaging applications, with it considered to be one of the most promising natural nanomaterials.

 

What does the NanoPack project aim to achieve?

As part of the organisation’s goals and ambitions, NanoPack aims to prolong the shelf-life of products by up to 25% — helping to reduce the 1.3 billion tonnes of food waste annually.

The project is also aiming to enhance food safety for consumers by inhibiting the growth of microbes on food products, preventing early spoilage and foodborne illness outbreaks.

Alongside this, it wants to reduce operational costs for food manufacturers and position Europe as a global leader for food nanotechnology and smart antimicrobial packaging.

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In its latest test, the NanoPack film was able to expand the shelf-life of yellow cheese by 50% (Credit: Pixabay)

As of this month, the NanoPack project carried out a series of antimicrobial efficacy tests in different sites that proved the film’s ability to extend shelf life of perishable goods.

Among impressive results claimed, the film was able to stop mould growth on bread by at least three weeks, increase saleability of fresh cherries by 40% and expand the shelf-life of yellow cheese by 50%.