American scientists make packaging films from dairy products

Scientists in the United States have recently developed a new method to produce an edible food water-resistant packaging film using dairy products and by-products of biofuel production processes.

According to the report of the “Daily Science” website of the United States, this technology was developed by Peggy Tomasula, head of research of the dairy processing and product research group in the eastern region of Pennsylvania, and the agricultural research service organization in Pennsylvania. We developed. They found that mixing milk protein casein with water and glycerol, a by-product of biofuel production, produced a water-resistant edible food packaging film.

Tommasula said that scientists use carbon dioxide as an environmentally friendly solvent instead of using difficult-to-treat, unpleasant chemicals or acids to separate dairy protein from milk; the use of carbon dioxide comes from the production of glucose fermentation of ethanol. The by-products of the process. Carbon dioxide makes edible films more resistant to water and more biodegradable.

The resulting food packaging film is smooth, transparent and fully edible. Like traditional food packaging, edible films can extend the shelf life of many foods, protect food from damage, prevent food from being exposed to moisture and oxygen, and improve appearance. By using renewable resources instead of petrochemicals, scientists can produce more biodegradable products and reduce waste.