April 30, 2024

Jessica A. Dennehy

10th Grade

Williamsville East High School

Approximately 36% of all manufactured plastic is used for packaging purposes. Approximately 85% of all packaging is improperly disposed of and ends up in landfills, the oceans, or animals' stomachs. A modern solution to this issue has emerged in the form of edible food packaging made of biodegradable, plant-based, and natural materials. Any film, sheet, or coating, as long as it can be eaten with the product, can be considered edible food packaging. This is a zero-waste, alternative form of packaging for portable foods and beverages. Thus, along with mitigating the negative effects of plastic packaging on the environment, edible food packaging is also a transition away from the world’s dependency on plastic.

The developing field of non-plastic food packaging manufacturing is incredibly diverse. In 2012, Dr. David Edwards created the WikiCell: a bilayer biodegradable film made of charged polymers. The soft and delicate inner layer englobes the foodstuff and is composed of tapioca and/or bagasse, byproducts of sugar extraction. The outer layer, which is made of a hardened material such as chocolate or isomalt (a sugar substitute), protects the integrity of the inner membrane. Although more commonly holding juices, soups, or other liquids, WikiCells can hold most forms of food. As an alternative to WikiCell, Evoware, an Indonesian enterprise that uses seaweed as an alternative material to plastic, developed jello-like cups made from seaweed. After drinking, the “Ello Jello Cup” can be ingested as a healthy palate cleanser. Other, simpler forms of edible food packaging include ice cream cones, hard cookie coffee cups, starch-based fiber wrappers, powdered sugar straws, or even the wax coatings on fruit.

With such a large, diverse, and innovative array of products that are considered edible food packaging, there is no “one” way to manufacture them. However, the production of sheets and wrappers made of seaweed or other plants, which can arguably be called the founding fathers of the edible food packaging world, is well documented. The process goes as follows:

1. A film-forming solution is made from a variety of materials.

2. This solution is homogenized.

3. The solution is degassed to prevent the formation of imperfections and affiliated hygiene risks.

4. The solution is cast, typically on a molded sheet.

5. The solution dries and forms a film.

6. The film is detached and removed from the sheet, ready to be used as food packaging.

An alternative method is forming a coating around the food product instead of producing a separate film to wrap around it. This is similar to waxing apples; Instead of the solution being cast (step four), the food product is immersed in the solution before being removed and dried.

The usage of seaweed as a material in packaging isn’t only limited to food packaging. Notpla, a UK-based packaging brand based on “disappearing back into nature”, offers plastic packaging alternatives with Notpla coating (compostable take-home boxes), Notpla paper (made of seaweed by-product from industrial processing), and Notpla pipettes (vegan, single-serve olive oil cartridges made of seaweed).

Society is becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of plastic and pollution on the environment. These alternative forms of food packaging are far more sustainable than traditional plastic packaging and are far better for the environment in terms of both carbon emissions and waste disposal. Although they are currently more expensive than the mass-used plastic packaging, edible food packaging is growing more and more affordable and accessible. With a variety of different products emerging, from Indonesian Avani’s cassava-root bag – designed to nourish insects instead of killing them (which plastics do in droves) – to Bakey’s complete cutlery line composed of rice flour, wheat, and sorghum, the range of these sustainable packing is continuously expanding. It's time to put your money where your mouth is by actively supporting and investing in edible food packaging. By transitioning away from traditional packaging, we not only help sustain the environment but also make a tangible difference in the world.