Novel applications of radiation technology on the production of biodegradable packaging for the food industry

Abstract

The environmental damage human activities are cause is our most present concern. Plastics mainly petroleum-based packaging materials are widely employed in the manufacture of food packaging because of their performance and facility of production. That is leading to serious ecological problems for the environment as synthetic plastics are resistant to biodegradation. Biopolymers can be seeing as a solution to the problems posed by plastics as they easily degrade in the environment. Naturally occurring polymers produced by living organisms show no adverse effects on the environment or human being. For biodegradable food packaging it is required to employ biopolymers with good film formation capability and to employ a proper film formation method. In the present article, the employment of radiation technology in the production of films or coating for food packaging is presented as a novel application.