New Food Packaging Material Based on Modified Corn Oil

Abstract

In this manuscript, we present novel bioplastics, which are completely biodegradable, for their potential use in food packaging to replace fossil-fuel-derived plastic films and slow food degradation due to oxidative processes or microbial contamination. In fact, the work analyzes the influence of modified corn oil as a plasticizing and/or compatibilizing agent in the polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) blend. The films were obtained thanks to a blown film extruder. The low percentages of epoxidized (EPO) and maleinized (MAL) corn oil have been chosen to ensure the mixability and homogeneous distributions of the oil within the PLA–PHB matrix during processing and in the final films, and to avoid cost increases for the final material compared with the proposed material. The innovative contribution of this manuscript is the use of active films capable of slowing down the deterioration of food in order to avoid the waste of fruit and vegetables. In fact, a large amount of fruits and vegetables are thrown away because the consumer is unable to use them all before spoilage. For this reason, the materials obtained have the ability to wrap the cut and uneaten fruit so that it can be preserved and maintain its integrity over time, thus preventing it from being thrown away and wasted.