The protein in question, called Casein, is combined with water and shaped into a thin, film-like product, which can be used to replace plastic. In addition to the new packaging being biodegradable, it’s 500 times better at preserving food than plastic is. What’s more, this packaging is actually edible! Not that you would want to, but just imagine picking up your supply of fruit and vegetables from the grocery store and then eating the packaging for dessert!
A further benefit of the new packaging is that it can help alleviate the overproduction of milk. The latter also poses a seriously environmental problem in itself, as it only contributes further to the existing food waste problem in the western world.
The scale of food wastage in developed countries is astounding to say the very least. In 2010, some 133 BILLION pounds of food was wasted in the United States alone due to it going stale on supermarket shelves, so the new Casein-based packaging can also be a big help in this regard.
Plastic takes approximately 1,000 years to biodegrade, so taking into account just how much plastic is disposed of around the world every single day, the new Casein-based packaging could be an environmental savior the likes of which has never been seen before.
According to the American Chemical Society, Casein coating can also be sprayed directly onto cereal to keep its crunchiness, negating the need to add sugar to it. There’s even suggestion that the Casein coating can be used for applications such as individual dry soup portions, rice, noodles and instant coffee. The idea is that the consumer would simply add hot water, dissolving the container and thereby eliminating packaging waste entirely.
Although it isn’t yet in production, the Casein-based packaging could change the global environment for the better once large food companies are able to get their hands on it. Hopefully it’ll be sooner rather than later.
Learn more about this amazing creation in the following video:
Content Source: The Plaid Zebra
