Life cycle assessment (LCA) of antioxidant active packaging: finding a breakeven point

Jiang, Xueqi

Life cycle assessment (LCA) of antioxidant active packaging: finding a breakeven point

Abstract

To combat the food waste problem, active packaging technologies have been developed to extend the shelf life of food products at the consumer level. Non-migrative packaging, in which active compounds are immobilized on the food-contact surface, could also provide advantages in the clean label. Although active packaging could reduce food waste, it produces more environmental impacts because it requires additional raw material and processing steps, compared to conventional packaging. This study uses life cycle assessment (LCA) to gain an understanding of the sustainability performance of PET-Curcumin packaging that contains oil vinaigrette. The eco profile of the food-packaging system was calculated and presented in 8 impact categories. Overall, the additional impacts generated from the active packaging are small. A food waste reduction of 2% of the total amount contained in the packaging could offset the additional impacts of active packaging, except for freshwater eutrophication and fossil resource scarcity, which require 11.6% and 6.5%, respectively. Additionally, when developing active packaging for oil vinaigrette products, researchers need to pay particular attention to keeping fossil resource scarcity and human carcinogenic toxicity under acceptable levels.

Date Issued

2022

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International

Rights URI

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

Types

dissertation or thesis