Anagrafe della ricerca

Sustainable development offers a vision of a fairer, more prosperous, peaceful and sustainable world in which no one is left behind. In food- the way it is grown, produced, traded, packed, transported, stored, marketed and consumed- lies the fundamental connection between people and the planet, as well as the path to inclusive and sustainable economic growth. However, only considering Northern Italy, food waste represents a significant fraction (around 20 %) of the whole waste production, without considering the other losses occurring during the “farm to fork” path. While volumes of still edible food waste vary geographically, by commodity, and by point in the supply chain, a recent study has pointed out that about 28 % of undifferentiated food wastes in the North of Italy is still edible. Referring exclusively to the organic fraction, which accounts for about 80 % of the total undifferentiated food waste, 22 % is still edible. In other words, we are wasting every year 98 Kg of food per person that undoubtedly can be recovered or re-used and, of which, 27 Kg is still edible. These numbers emphasize the relevant economic impact of food waste on families and society in general. Thus, more endeavors will be essential for promoting sustainable paths, not only towards better waste management procedures and food waste awareness, but also in the direction of reusing/valorizing materials still preserving some residual utility in the production system. In this complex scenario, the BIOSTAR-PACK project will meet this challenge proposing an easy and feasible idea to valorize organic wastes in the development a new packaging material recyclable and ensuring a longer shelf life to food. In detail, BIOSTAR-PACK will prepare transparent composites characterized by high barrier towards oxygen and humidity employing as raw materials starch and mineral fillers. Starch will be obtained from organic wastes and it will be suitably modified for the development of light-triggered biodegradable composites for food packaging applications.