European consortium tackles food waste with a €3.9 million project

Biopac announces a leading role in ISA-Pack an international consortium which has secured a €3 million grant from the European Commission to develop innovative packaging to reduce food spoilage. ISA-Pack aims to develop fully sustainable packaging for fresh foods to extend shelf life, improve quality and reduce waste. Perishable fresh food wastage in the supply chain is estimated to be approximately 10%. ISA-PACK seeks to reduce this wastage by more than 50%.

Stretch wrap packaging produced from microbes that feed on sustainable natural materials may have the answer to high performance protection stretch film packaging.  Intelligent indicator systems that can be directly printed onto packaging materials will also be investigated to combine time / temperature indicators (to monitor bacterial growth) with freshness indicators.

The ISA-Pack project is funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme bringing together research and development effort from five countries.  European companies and research organisations will collaborate over a three year period to create innovative sustainable materials, accurate and reliable indicator systems and cost benefits to both supply chain and consumer.

Mark Brigden of Biopac says “For retailers ISA-Pack has the potential to extend shelf life and reduce wastage of fresh foods. The opportunity to combine the use of sustainable materials and create significant supply chain benefits in extending shelf life is a major leap forward in fresh food packaging.”

This advanced research keeps Europe at the forefront of packaging innovation. The project will invite food processors, retailers and consumers to participate in shaping this breakthrough programme.

The ISA-Pack project comprises the following partners:

THE UK MATERIALS TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE LIMITED United Kingdom, THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM United Kingdom, CAMPDEN BRI United Kingdom, INSTITUTO TECNOLOGICO DEL EMBALAJE, TRANSPORTE Y LOGISTICA ITENE Spain, DOMINO PRINTING SCIENCES PLC  United Kingdom, BIOPAC (UK) LIMITED United Kingdom, FKUR KUNSTSTOFF GMBH  Germany, OMNIFORM SA Belgium, INTREX Poland, ASOCIACION EMPRESARIAL DE INVESTIGACION CENTRO TECNOLOGICO DEL CALZADOY DEL PLASTICO DE LA REGION DE MURCIA (CETEC) Spain

Source: Material & Science (http://goo.gl/eo5LI)