But producing a 100 per cent green package is more complicated than it may first seem – especially considering all the vital components other than the basic substrate needed to protect food and ensure product quality and shelf life.
But Finnish technical specialists VTT believe they have made significant strides towards reaching this goal.
FoodProductionDaily.com caught up with Inka Orko, business development for the research centre, who told us about a raft of projects by its experts – all using biobased materials - that bring a truly green package closer.
Constructing barrier films from polysaccharide-based biopolymers or by employing an atomic layer deposition process to produce thinner biodegradable coatings are just two ground-breaking techniques already developed at lab-scale, she said.
See-through paper and cardboard manufactured in a single step, along with biobased adhesives are two more key packaging components successfully brought to fruition and patented by VTT scientists, Orko explained.
Biobased inks, the final piece in the eco-package remain under development, with VTT hopeful of having a patented product within the next few years.