On the eco-, edible and fast-decomposing packaging in the food industry

At the moment, all economically developed countries face the problem of pollution of the surrounding world, and one of the main pollutants is packaging. Packaging helps to preserve its contents from various damages, and informative and attractive packaging is an indispensable attribute of the marketing process. Most products are Packed in a huge amount of film and paper, which is thrown out by the consumer to the landfill. As a result, there are growing landfills for garbage, 40 % of which is disposable packaging. In the conditions of increased demand for so-called healthy food products, the question of packaging this food in no less “healthy” packaging arose. Eco-friendly, biodegradable, and edible packaging is one of the relatively new trends in the field of ecology. The international standard ASTM D-6400 “Standard specification for marking plastics intended for aerobic composting in municipal or industrial facilities” regulates the development of bioplastic mass technologies. According to the Standard specification for compostable plastics, biodegradable and decomposable plastics are classified into the following groups: starch, cellulose and protein based plastics; aliphatic polyesters; polylactic acids; polytrihydroxybutyrate; polyhydroxalkanoates; bio-derived polyethylene and lipid-derived polymers. According to the method of decomposition, bioplastics are divided into compostable plastic and photo-degradable plastics. The range of biodegradable plastics includes: starch; natural polyesters; renewable resource polyesters; synthetic aliphatic polyesters; aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters; hydro-biodegradable polyester; water-soluble polymers; photo-biodegradable plastics and controlled degradation of dietary supplements. In the Russian Federation, the issues of bioplastic production have not been developed and are not legally fixed. Today, the main types of edible packaging include natural casings for meat products, wafer cups for ice cream, craft paper, cardboard, wood, cellulose, and others. Jute bags are a potential biodegradable packaging material. Many companies produce modern disposable eco-friendly dishes made of wood, bamboo, carbonized bamboo, sugar cane and other eco-friendly materials without the use of chemicals.