Sustainable Innovations in Food Packaging

This book explores the latest advances in the sustainable production of packaged foods. Packaging plays an important role in sustainable food production and consumption in industrialized countries, where there is an increasing pressure to reduce the environmental impact of packaged foods. For example, the European Union recommends packaging from renewable sources, with a focus on bio-based materials. Sustainable packaging processes guarantee the reuse of the entire waste material and at the same time avoid the loss of food safety and quality during storage by preventing food-borne diseases and chemical contamination. Furthermore, the dramatic problem of plastic waste accumulation and the conservation of oil and food resources need to be taken into consideration.

This book presents eco-friendly packaging strategies to reduce food and plastic waste and address the end-of-life issues of persistent materials. It particularly focuses on the production of biodegradable microbial polymers and the use of by-products and waste from the agricultural and food industries. These strategies promote an innovative and productive waste-based food packaging economy, separating the food packaging industry from fossil reserves and allowing bio-polymers to return to the soil. Lastly, the book covers life-cycle assessment, life-cycle costing, and externality assessment to help readers understand the economical reliability of the innovations presented.

Teresa De Pilli is Associate Professor of Food Technology at the Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (D.A.F.N.E.) at Foggia University (Italy). Her main research focuses on extrusion cooking in collaboration with the University of Nantes (France), University of Helsinki and Aristotle University (Greece). She is Author of 123 scientific publications and 2 book chapters, and holds two patents.

Antonietta Baiano is Associate Professor at the Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (D.A.F.N.E.) at the University of Foggia (Italy). Her research interests include the phenolic fraction of foods; the production and quality of olive oil, wine, and beer; and the recovery of nutraceutical compounds from food waste. Prof. Baiano is Author of more than 190 publications, including articles, books, and book chapters, and she is Member of the editorial boards of various prestigious food science journals.

Giuseppe Lopriore is Assistant Professor at the Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Resources and Engineering (D.A.F.N.E.) at the University of Foggia (Italy), working in the area of general arboriculture and tree crops. His research interests include the sustainability of tree crop production and the quality of their fresh and processed products. He acted as Principal Investigator of the Caripuglia Foundation project call 2011 entitled 'Alternative use of the distillation of winemaking by-products in Apuglia. He is Author of more than 40 publications in international conference proceedings and national and international journals, Reviewer for international journals, and has been Member of the Italian Society for Horticultural Sciences (SOI) since 2004 and of the International Society of Horticultural Science (ISHS) since 2014.

Carlo Russo is Associate Professor of Commodity Science at the University of Foggia (Italy). His scientific activities focus on enhancing methodological aspects of the LCA applied to the agro-food sector, and his work has received 2 prizes from the University of Forgia (the SEAGMEG award in 2010, and the Montel award in 2012). Prof. Russo has held and attended several national and international seminars on LCA methodology, and authored and co-authored more than 40 scientific publications. He also acts as Scientific Reviewer for various national and international journals.

Giulio Mario Cappelletti is Associate Professor at the University of Foggia in the area of "Commodity Science”. His research interests include the application of LCA methodology, the environmental aspects of agri-food sector, the promotion of agri-food products, the quality, and typical food products. Prof. Cappelletti is Author of more than 80 publications in international conference proceedings and national and international journals.