可食用保鲜膜 安全又环保

    Edible cling film could soon be the answer to keeping food fresher, and reducing the mountain of discarded plastic polluting our seas and countryside.

    Current food-wrapping films made from oil are both ineffective at preventing spoilage and suspected of leaching* potentially harmful compounds* into food. The new film based on casein* — a protein found in milk — is up to 500 times better than plastics at keeping oxygen away from food and, because they are derived from milk, are biodegradable* and sustainable*.

    Research leader Peggy Tomasula at the U.S. Department of Agriculture said: “The protein-based films are powerful oxygen blockers that help prevent food spoilage.”

    Some commercially available edible packaging varieties are already on the market, but are made of starch, which is more porous* and allows oxygen to seep through its micro-holes.

    The milk-based packaging, however, has smaller pores and can thus create a tighter network that keeps oxygen out.

    Nutritious additives* such as vitamins, probiotics* and nutraceuticals*, could also be added to the edible cling film.(SD-Agencies)