Empaques

[PACKAGING]
by Aaron L. Brody

Bio-based Food Package Structures
he incessant beat of the tom toms heralding the imminent arrival of biologically derived food packaging materials and structures is heard—actually, read—every day on our virtual communications network called the Internet. Sustain the environment,

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John Krochta, Professor of Food Science and Technology at the University ofCalifornia, Davis, is shown holding up one of the whey protein films patented in 1996 for potential coating applications on nuts, dried foods, and fruits.
Photo courtesy of California Dairy Research Center

use our terrific new invention discovered in the remote jungles abutting the Amazon or the upper side of Mount K2 and tested by the government package laboratories of Antarctica. Thiscolumn has dutifully reported on many of the announcements, as difficult as it might be to comprehend and download each, tracing its source and verifying the claimed results. Recall our January 1995 Food Technology column in concert with the world’s leading expert on the topic of bio packaging films, John Krochta of the University of California, Davis. By no small coincidence, the IFT Food PackagingDivision honored John during the Annual Meeting & Food Expo ® this past June with the Riester-Davis Award, food packaging’s premier accolade for lifetime achievement. Accomplishment and professionalism are the chief criteria for the Riester-Davis Award, and John Krochta’s long and distinguished record is a true reflection of what our founders envisioned as our divisional mission. Each year, therecipient is asked to deliver a brief talk on his lifetime and his vision of the future. This year’s lecture was possibly just a touch more relevant than those of prior honorees because it hit on the contemporary evaluation of biologically derived package materials and structures. With John’s implicit permission, I am extracting the essentials to amplify the drumbeats we are hearing so that we allmight learn from a master. In mapping out a career, said John in his Riester-Davis Award acceptance address, it is possible to consider it from different

perspectives, e.g., the presence of a particular area of scholarship, work done on certain problems, the impact of people on personal decisions along the journey, or the different stages of a person’s career. For his Ph.D. research, John wasdrawn to the problem of poor efficiency of plant protein utilization due to low levels of certain essential amino acids. One approach being explored was synthesizing these amino acids and adding them to the plant protein to increase its quality. However, only one of the optical isomers that result from synthesis has biological activity and usefulness. The best approach is to separate the opticalisomers and recycle the non-active isomer back into the synthesis process. This experience sensitized John to: a) the critical importance of molecular structure to properties and function of polymers; and b) the importance of the efficient use of resources. John’s teaching and research at UC Davis have been greatly formed by his chemical engineering education and experience with food harvesting andprocessing with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Western Regional Research Center (USDA/ARS/ WRRC.) In particular, his experiences with polymer science, source reduction, and sustainability exerted a great influence on his interest and research in the area of edible films. Although his edible film research has focused on the use of whey protein separated from the byproductcheese whey, the principles are applicable across all biologically based food package materials.

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John’s basic research has involved exploration of the relationship of film composition and molecular structure to film properties and function. The applied research has emphasized matching the properties of the films to appropriate applications that result in...