EDIBIOPACK SPRAY- BIOFILM EDIBILI A CARATTERE ANTIBATTERICO ED ANTIMICROBICO PER INCREMENTARE LA SHELF-LIFE DEL FORMAGGIO

The project involves the construction of a spray packaged in cans for domestic, commercial and industrial use. This spray is able to form on the surface of hard and semi-hard cheese, an edible polymeric biofilm, based on chitosan enriched with essential oils of Sicilian herbs (oregano, thyme, marjoram, sage..).

This innovative cheese packaging system is oriented to biosustainability of packaging and promotion of of food quality and healthiness of cheeses and it would apply as a valid alternative to the traditional polyethylene films and trays, and it could offer a contribution to the elimination of some of the main critical points shown by traditional wrapping systems.

1) Radical replacement of traditional plastics with easy to make and low cost biopolymer and eco-sustainable materials.
2) Elimination of cheese contamination by migration of additives (in particular phthalates) from packaging to food. In fact, the role of endocrine disruptors with nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic and oncogenic effects is officially recognized to some phthalates by the scientific community.
3) Introduction of essential oils of aromatic herbs in the realization of the totally edible biofilm enriches, not only of pleasantness, the taste of the cheeses that it covers but is able to strongly amplify the antibacterial and antimicrobial character of the biofilm contributing to the prolongation of the cheese shelf-life.