IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i10p7838-d1143966.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Investigating the Environmental Benefits of Novel Films for the Packaging of Fresh Tomatoes Enriched with Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Compounds through Life Cycle Assessment

Author

Listed:
  • Christina Tsouti

    (Draxis Environmental SA, Athens Branch, 317 Mesogeion Avenue & Lokridos, 15231 Athens, Greece)

  • Christina Papadaskalopoulou

    (Draxis Environmental SA, Athens Branch, 317 Mesogeion Avenue & Lokridos, 15231 Athens, Greece)

  • Angeliki Konsta

    (Draxis Environmental SA, Athens Branch, 317 Mesogeion Avenue & Lokridos, 15231 Athens, Greece)

  • Panagiotis Andrikopoulos

    (Draxis Environmental SA, Athens Branch, 317 Mesogeion Avenue & Lokridos, 15231 Athens, Greece)

  • Margarita Panagiotopoulou

    (Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechneiou, 15780 Athens, Greece)

  • Sofia Papadaki

    (Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechneiou, 15780 Athens, Greece)

  • Christos Boukouvalas

    (Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechneiou, 15780 Athens, Greece)

  • Magdalini Krokida

    (Laboratory of Process Analysis and Design, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, 9 Iroon Polytechneiou, 15780 Athens, Greece)

  • Katerina Valta

    (Draxis Environmental SA, Athens Branch, 317 Mesogeion Avenue & Lokridos, 15231 Athens, Greece)

Abstract

Food systems account for 21–37% of total net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, in the European Union, the retail and consumption stages account for half of the total food waste produced across the entire food supply chain. For this, there is a continuous development of novel packaging materials to extend the shelf life of fresh products and thus reduce food waste produced at these stages. The aim of the present research is to examine the environmental performance of such materials enriched with antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds by considering their effect on the shelf-life extension of packed fresh tomatoes. In particular, two novel packaging films, a film with incorporated tomato leaf-stem extract and Flavomix through extrusion and a film coated with zein nanofibers containing the aforementioned bio-active compounds through electrospinning were studied for the packaging of fresh tomatoes and compared to conventional polypropylene packaging film. An antioxidant effect was recorded for both films achieving a shelf life prolongation of three days. Moreover, both films exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . In addition, antimicrobial activity was observed against yeast and molds and the total viable bacterial count in packed fresh tomatoes. The environmental benefits were evaluated using a life cycle assessment. The results indicated a decrease in the environmental impacts by 14% considering the entire food supply chain for both novel films. The environmental performance of novel film production by extrusion shows an increased impact of 31% compared to conventional film, while nanocoating shows an increased impact of 18%.

Suggested Citation

  • Christina Tsouti & Christina Papadaskalopoulou & Angeliki Konsta & Panagiotis Andrikopoulos & Margarita Panagiotopoulou & Sofia Papadaki & Christos Boukouvalas & Magdalini Krokida & Katerina Valta, 2023. "Investigating the Environmental Benefits of Novel Films for the Packaging of Fresh Tomatoes Enriched with Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Compounds through Life Cycle Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7838-:d:1143966
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7838/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/10/7838/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mena, Carlos & Terry, Leon A. & Williams, Adrian & Ellram, Lisa, 2014. "Causes of waste across multi-tier supply networks: Cases in the UK food sector," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 144-158.
    2. Martin C. Heller & Susan E. M. Selke & Gregory A. Keoleian, 2019. "Mapping the Influence of Food Waste in Food Packaging Environmental Performance Assessments," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(2), pages 480-495, April.
    3. Erik Pauer & Bernhard Wohner & Victoria Heinrich & Manfred Tacker, 2019. "Assessing the Environmental Sustainability of Food Packaging: An Extended Life Cycle Assessment including Packaging-Related Food Losses and Waste and Circularity Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, February.
    4. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    5. Koen Deconinck & Lucinda Toyama, 2022. "Environmental impacts along food supply chains: Methods, findings, and evidence gaps," OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Papers 185, OECD Publishing.
    6. Amani, Pegah & Gadde, Lars-Erik, 2015. "Shelf life extension and food waste reduction," 2015 International European Forum (144th EAAE Seminar), February 9-13, 2015, Innsbruck-Igls, Austria 206209, International European Forum on System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks.
    7. Miguel Vigil & Maria Pedrosa-Laza & JV Alvarez Cabal & Francisco Ortega-Fernández, 2020. "Sustainability Analysis of Active Packaging for the Fresh Cut Vegetable Industry by Means of Attributional & Consequential Life Cycle Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cheila Almeida & Philippe Loubet & Tamíris Pacheco da Costa & Paula Quinteiro & Jara Laso & David Baptista de Sousa & Ronan Cooney & Sinead Mellett & Guido Sonnemann & Carlos José Rodríguez & Neil Row, 2022. "Packaging environmental impact on seafood supply chains: A review of life cycle assessment studies," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(6), pages 1961-1978, December.
    2. Agnieszka Nowaczek & Ewa Dziobek & Joanna Kulczycka, 2023. "Benefits and Limitations of Indicators for Monitoring the Transformation towards a Circular Economy in Poland," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-21, February.
    3. Lotta Ruippo & Hanna Koivula & Jaana Korhonen & Anne Toppinen & Eliisa Kylkilahti, 2023. "Innovating for Sustainability: Attributes, Motivations, and Responsibilities in the Finnish Food Packaging Ecosystem," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 919-937, June.
    4. Paulina Schiappacasse & Bernhard Müller & Le Thuy Linh, 2019. "Towards Responsible Aggregate Mining in Vietnam," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, August.
    5. Pina Puntillo, 2023. "Circular economy business models: Towards achieving sustainable development goals in the waste management sector—Empirical evidence and theoretical implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 941-954, March.
    6. Schlör, Holger & Venghaus, Sandra & Hake, Jürgen-Friedrich, 2018. "The FEW-Nexus city index – Measuring urban resilience," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 382-392.
    7. Jean-Louis Combes & Alexandru Minea & Pegdéwendé Nestor Sawadogo, 2019. "Assessing the effects of combating illicit financial flows on domestic tax revenue mobilization in developing countries," Post-Print halshs-02315734, HAL.
    8. Nelson, Ewan & Warren, Peter, 2020. "UK transport decoupling: On track for clean growth in transport?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 39-51.
    9. Ibrahim Ari & Muammer Koc, 2018. "Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Development: Understanding the Interrelations between Public Investment and Sovereign Debt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.
    10. R. Ebrahimi & S. Choobchian & H. Farhadian & I. Goli & E. Farmandeh & H. Azadi, 2022. "Investigating the effect of vocational education and training on rural women’s empowerment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    11. Benjamin Nölting & Bettina König & Anne B. Zimmermann & Antonietta Di Giulio & Martina Schäfer & Flurina Schneider, 2022. "Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity to reflect on sustainability research," Sustainability Nexus Forum, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 11-27, December.
    12. Rashmi Jaipal, 2017. "Psychology at the Crossroads," Psychology and Developing Societies, , vol. 29(2), pages 125-159, September.
    13. Bárbara Galleli & Elder Semprebon & Joyce Aparecida Ramos dos Santos & Noah Emanuel Brito Teles & Mateus Santos de Freitas-Martins & Raquel Teodoro da Silva Onevetch, 2021. "Institutional Pressures, Sustainable Development Goals and COVID-19: How Are Organisations Engaging?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-21, November.
    14. Sagarika Dey & Priyanka Devi, 2019. "Impact of TVET on Labour Market Outcomes and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Areas: A Case Study from Cachar District, Assam," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 13(3), pages 357-371, December.
    15. Rostami-Tabar, Bahman & Ali, Mohammad M. & Hong, Tao & Hyndman, Rob J. & Porter, Michael D. & Syntetos, Aris, 2022. "Forecasting for social good," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 1245-1257.
    16. Maria Sassi, 2020. "A SEM Approach to the Direct and Indirect Links between WaSH Services and Access to Food in Countries in Protracted Crises: The Case of Western Bahr-el-Ghazal State, South Sudan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-13, November.
    17. Seebacher, Moritz, 2023. "Pathways to progress: The complementarity of bicycles and road infrastructure for girls’ education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    18. Olga Stepanova & Magdalena Romanov, 2021. "Urban Planning as a Strategy to Implement Social Sustainability Policy Goals? The Case of Temporary Housing for Immigrants in Gothenburg, Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.
    19. Alberto Bertossi & Stefania Troiano & Francesco Marangon, 2022. "Where is sustainability? An assessment of vending products," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 155-180.
    20. Michel, Hanno, 2020. "From local to global: The role of knowledge, transfer, and capacity building for successful energy transitions," Discussion Papers, Research Group Digital Mobility and Social Differentiation SP III 2020-603, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:10:p:7838-:d:1143966. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.