Waste Products Good for Food Packaging

Bagasse, the agricultural waste of sugar cane in sugar production can now be used to produce a new kind of food packaging which is safe for health, environment friendly, and biodegradable. This technology is being developed in Thailand to minimize the accumulatiion of plastic and foam packaging materials which have already amounted to 2.3 million tonnes. The new food packaging could be degraded within 45 days without waste management involved.

Food-packaging manufacturer Biodegradable Packaging for Environment's managing director Dr Weerachet Kittirattanapaiboon said that the company has developed a technology and a production process to use bagasse to produce food packaging. A key technology in the production process is the binder, a polymer substance that can force the bagasse pulp particles to join together so when it is used for food packaging, it can be heat resistant and waterproof. The company's binder has passed the safety standards set by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.

The complete article is available at http://www.nationmultimedia.com/worldhotnews/read.php?newsid=30047606. For details contact Supat Attathom of Biosafety and Biotechnology Information Center at safeybio@yahoo.com