Researchers from Sri Venkateswara and Sri Padmavati Mahila Viswavidyalayam Universities in India and from the Ural Federal University and Ural Branch of the RAS in Russia have created a new food packaging film that is edible.

The team created the film using edible seaweed biopolymer sodium alginate, which features molecules with film-forming behaviors, that was cross-linked with ferulic acid — a natural antioxidant.

According to the research team, the film-forming characteristics of the sodium alginate were enhanced with the ferulic acid, which served to strengthen the film.

A film of ferulic acid and sodium alginate formed on the surface of the glass Petri dish. Source: UrFU / Andrei Fomin

As such, the combination has led to a stronger, more rigid packaging film that offers foods — including fruits, vegetables, poultry, meat and seafood — greater protection. Additionally, the antioxidant components decrease the oxidation process, thereby keeping food fresh for longer.

Further, the film is water-soluble and will dissolve by roughly 90% in just 24 hours, thereby potentially addressing the plastic waste issue presented by plastic packaging and its impact on the world's oceans.

The research appears in the Journal of Food Engineering.