New shellfish-based wrap keeps tomatoes fresh longer than plastic
Chumpon P, Li M, Song JI
Food Forest
The cherry tomatoes you grow or buy could soon come wrapped in something that protects them from mold and moisture for weeks, then vanishes into your compost pile instead of sitting in a landfill for centuries.
Researchers took chitosan, a material made from crab and shrimp shells, and reinforced it with super-thin fibers of the same substance to make a tougher, more flexible wrapping film. The new film blocked almost all UV light, resisted moisture, fought off common bacteria, and kept cherry tomatoes nearly at full weight after 21 days, all while fully breaking down in soil within a month.
Key Findings
Tensile strength increased 746% to 11.76 MPa after self-reinforcement with chitosan nanofibers
Film blocked over 98% of UV light and fully biodegraded in soil within 30 days
Cherry tomatoes packaged in the film retained about 80% of their initial weight after 21 days
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists built a stronger, biodegradable food wrap from chitosan (a material from crab and shrimp shells) by weaving in ultra-thin chitosan nanofibers, and it kept cherry tomatoes fresh for three weeks while breaking down completely in soil within a month.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Self-reinforced chitosan composites for high-performance food packaging.
The next generation of packaging must safeguard food today while protecting the planet tomorrow. Achieving this vision requires materials that unite mechanical strength, biodegradability, and circu...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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