85% of marine litter consists of plastic, with single-use plastics accounting for over half of this litter. This plastic material mostly derives from non-renewable sources such as fossil fuel. Recycling plastics has been presented as the solution to the problem. However, only the 14% of the plastics used worldwide is collected and of this only one-third can be really recycled.
To overcome the problems presented by fossil fuels, many companies are investing in bioplastics. Despite the excellent progress, bioplastic is still a young technology. Current bio-packaging applications on the market have high potential for improvement related to their environmental sustainability as well as functionality.
Through this project, we developed a novel unit dose packaging that is made of bio-based and bio-compostable plastic material, meeting the requirements to apply for "OK Industrial Compost" certification by TÜV Austria.
In addition, food contact compatibility tests have been performed based on current EU legislation on food contact materials and EU REG. N. 10/2011 on plastic materials. Specific food products were formulated and produced following the processing conditions and the facilities requirements of the food industry, with the aim to evaluate if the materials developed achieve adequate shelf-life and sensory characteristics.
To evaluate the behavior of BIOSNAP with food, and to learn about consumer acceptability, we carried out two sensory analysis, evaluated by an expert panel and a consumer panel.
Finally, through an innovative tool (MUNDO SABOR), information from real potential consumers was obtained to carry out a consumer concept test, that is to make a market study of the packaging solutions of BIOSNAP, and through the application “Home Use Test” (HUT), consumers had the chance of assessing the products at home.
