RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Environmental consequences of shelf life extension: conventional versus active packaging for fresh-cut salads
A1 Villanova Estors, Raquel
A1 Murcia Velasco, Diana Alexandra
A1 Correa Guimaraes, Adriana
A1 López Carballo, Gracia
A1 Hernández Muñoz, Pilar
A1 Gavara Clemente, Rafael José
A1 Navas Gracia, Luis Manuel
K1 Packaging
K1 Active packaging
K1 Environmental performance
K1 Fresh product packaging
K1 LCA
K1 Sustainable production
K1 Life Cycle Assessment
K1 3102 Ingeniería Agrícola
K1 3308 Ingeniería y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente
K1 3103 Agronomía
K1 3309 Tecnología de Los Alimentos
AB The use of active coatings in fresh food packaging is an innovative technique that optimizes the functional properties of films, resulting in a longer product shelf life and reduced food waste. But, which is more sustainable, active packaging (AP) or conventional packaging (CP) for the packaging of fresh-cut products? To answer this research question, this study analyzes the environmental performance of AP during its life cycle for packaging a minimally processed fresh salad mix compared with CP, in terms of its manufacture and use. The AP is a bag that includes a bioactive component, oregano essential oil (OEO), which is an inhibitor of microbial growth, incorporated into an ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) coating on a conventional polypropylene (PP) film. To this end, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was carried out based on ISO 14040 and 14044, using the ReCiPe methodology. The results showed that using active packaging has a beneficial affect, reducing the amount of produced food by 30% compared with conventional packaging over the same period. The reductions in the studied impact categories were greater than 50% in most of them, with a 62% reduction in global warming. The proposed sensitivity analysis showed the difference between the disposal or treatment of waste generated by the packaging production process and the packaged product, indicating that this step is of great importance for the environmental impacts and sustainability of this process. In 80% of the scenarios analyzed, the AP achieved better results than the CP in terms of damage categories.
PB MDPI
SN 2073-4395
YR 2023
FD 2023
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/67896
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/67896
LA eng
NO Agronomy, 2023, Vol. 13, Nº. 11, 2749
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 25-dic-2024