2nd International Conference on Food and Beverage Packaging June 13-14, 2016 Rome, Italy

Biography:

Margarida Cortez Vieira is the Head of Department of Food Engineering and Director of the Laboratories of Food Product Development and of Food Processing at the High Institute of Engineering of University of Algarve. She holds degrees in Food Engineering, (PhD and Masters) and a High Diploma in Chemical Engineering. Her scientific area of interest is emergent technologies applied to food preservation including active packaging. She has more than 30 scientific publications, belonged to the scientific commitee of several international conferences and is a member of the editorial board of the Iseki International Journal of Food Studies and of the American Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering.

Abstract:

In industrialized countries, hectic life pushes consumers to eat more packed food. These products shelf life is determined by safety and/or quality minimal standards required but expiring dates may be unreal or too short, leading to food loss. The food loss impact on food security is a world striking concern. According to FAO (2015), in developing countries 40% losses occur at post-harvest and processing levels while in industrialized countries they occur at retail and consumer levels. Therefore, shelf life extension of packed food keeping quality, highly contributes for food sustainability. Food packaging protective passive role is changing into an active preservation role. Research is now focused on the inner layers behavior of food packages, which become a mean of releasing agents (antimicrobial, antioxidants or even nutritional supplements) to the food surface rather than being dissolved in bulk. Development of packaging materials including in their matrix directly or through encapsulation (active agents sealed in capsules at nano/micro scale), agents that will be released to food surfaces at a controlled rate, only when needed, are underway. The development of several indicators (chemical and biological sensors) also render packaging intelligent once it can alert to changes throughout the food chain that may endanger product safety (e.g. end of shelf life approaching, wrong storage temperature or pH change). An ActInPak COST Action FP1405 was created to promote the development of scientific and technical solutions of active/intelligent packaging and to perform a SWOT analysis for commercial exploitation of these innovative packaging.

Biography:

Anna F Castoldi is a Senior Scientific Officer in the EFSA Unit on Food Ingredients and Packaging in Parma (Italy), where she leads the Team of Food Contact Materials. Over the past 6 years, she has also coordinated EFSA’s scientific work on bisphenol A. As per her education, she obtained her PhD in Food and Environmental Toxicology at the University of Milan (Italy) in 1998 and further specialised in Pharmacology and Toxicology in 2002. Before joining EFSA in 2008, she carried out research in the area of molecular toxicology of food neurotoxicants in the US, Germany and Italy.

Abstract:

Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food (FCM) prescribes that EFSA assesses the safety of certain substances prior to their authorisation for use in FCM plastics. The current guidelines for this risk assessment and related data requirements date back to 2001. Scientific developments and the experience gained from the safety evaluation of hundreds of substances provide grounds for a possible update of the FCM guidelines. The key scientific grounds, which are presented in the 2015 EFSA CEF Panel opinion “Recent developments in the risk assessment of chemicals in food and their potential impact on the safety assessment of substances used in food contact materials” http://www.efsa.europa.eu/it/efsajournal/pub/4357, are summarised below. The opinion suggests to revisit the estimation of consumer exposure, now that EU food consumption data are available. The replacement of the current default consumption scenario of 1 kg food per day with four food consumption categories driven by infants and toddlers data, would afford a higher level of protection for consumers, particularly for young children. Genotoxicity testing should be mandatory for regulated substances used in FCM irrespective of their exposure levels. A key proposal is that the expected human exposure, with three thresholds set at 1.5, 30 and 80 µg/kg bw per day, should trigger the requirement of additional toxicity data, with this applying to all migrating substances, including non-intentionally added substances and oligomers. Concerning the identification and evaluation of migrating substances, more focus should be put on the finished materials and articles.

Biography:

Charalampos Proestos has obtained his PhD in Food Chemistry at Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), Greece, where he continued his Postdoctoral work on natural antioxidants on programs funded by EU and Greece. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He has published more than 30 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Editorial Board Member of more than 5 reputed journals.

Abstract:

The safety of food packaging and other food contact materials is of critical importance. Food contact materials are intended or have the potential to come in contact with food. When these materials come in contact with food, there is the possibility of the chemical substances migrating from the food contact material to the food, which could be potentially harmful to human health. In response to this issue, many countries have implemented food contact regulations to ensure food safety. Companies must ensure their products comply with the applicable food contact regulations to keep their products on the market.

Biography:

Jane Muncke holds a doctorate degree in environmental toxicology and an MSc in environmental science from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ). During her graduate and postgraduate work she was trained in analytical chemistry and ecotoxicology at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. Jane worked in the project management team of Novaquatis, an interdisciplinary research project on urban water management aiming at reducing chemical pollutants in the aquatic environment. After post doctoral work at Eawag in the area of endocrine disruption screening in zebrafish, Jane joined Emhart Glass, a supplier company to the container glass industry. In this position she analysed scientific information on food contact materials, migration, and impacts on human and environmental health. Since August 2012, she is working for the Food Packaging Forum as Managing Director and Chief Scientific Officer. Jane is a full scientific member of the Society of Toxicology (SOT), the American Chemical Society (ACS), the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), and the Endocrine Society.

Abstract:

All foodstuffs come into contact with food contact materials (FCMs) during various stages of storage, processing, filling, packaging, preparation and/or consumption. While FCMs are essential, especially for improving shelf-life and enabling transport, they can also be a source of chemical food contamination. In this presentation, I will review current regulation on FCMs in Europe, discuss the types of chemicals that are present in and migrate from different FCMs and highlight an analysis of chemicals of concern used in the manufacture of FCMs. I will further discuss challenges to chemical analysis and hazard characterization of migrating substances, thereby highlighting toxicological assessment of overall migrate, mixture toxicity and the concept of endocrine disruption.

Biography:

Maria Rubino is an Associate Professor in the School of Packaging and has been at Michigan State University since 2004. Before her academic career, she also spent over 15 years in industry as a scientist for chemical and food companies. Maria teaches courses on packaging permeability, shelf life, and application of instrumental analysis for packaging material characterization and performance.

Abstract:

Novel packaging materials, systems, and processes provide an opportunity to introduce innovative strategies that extend the shelf life of food products by improving food safety and quality, thus reducing food waste and cost. Novel systems may also minimize packaging materials while improving material functionality. One such innovative packaging strategy is the use of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) in polymer packaging. The addition of ENPs to polymeric materials can result in polymer nanocomposites with improved mechanical, physical, and barrier properties over the original polymers. As a result, less polymer can be used due to a unique synergism between the ENPs and the polymer matrix, and in some instances polymer nanocomposites with specific activities can be developed. Although the benefits of ENPs are significant, it is important to develop a basic understanding of the interactions between specific ENPs and the polymer matrix. With this knowledge it would be possible predict the coarsening, clustering, and migration of the ENPs in the physical and biological environments that the particles may be in contact with. In this section it will be discussed the application and safety of nanoparticles and nanocomposite systems as they applied to food packaging.

Biography:

Zinnai A completed her 1st PhD from the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa. She is working as an Associate Professor of Food Technology of Pisa University. In 2008, she received a “Special Mention” at “Montana Premium” for Food Science Research (with her colleague Venturi F.). She published more than 90 papers in journals or volumes and serving as a referee for research projects and papers. She was a scientific responsible for an Original Patent (PT2009A000018) that received a “Special mention of the Jury” at 24° SIMEI. She was a Chair at Bioprocess 2013 (Kansas City, USA) and at Food Technology 2014 (Las Vegas, USA).

Abstract:

As a consequence of some objective limitations for the extensive use of glass containers in food industry (i.e. heavy weight, fragility to internal pressure, impact and thermal shock, etc.), nowadays there is growing worldwide demand for alternative solutions to glass also for bottling wine in order to propose inexpensive and practical to use packaging resources. Among all the possible wine packaging materials it has been possible to observe an expansive utilization of polymeric materials including PET bottles, multilayer tetrabricks and bag-in-box type containers. Packaging, being the barrier that protects wine against environmental conditions, plays a fundamental role in the preservation of the quality of wine during all its life cycle, just starting from the bottling. With the aim to determine the influence of packaging in preserving the quality of wine, in this research project the chemical evolution of a white table wine stored in different packaging materials (glass bottles provided with different closures; bag-in-box containers; tetrabricks) and different volumes (2 volumes for each packaging) has been evaluated over a period of 12 months. For each packaging solution two different temperature levels (4° and 20°C) were also maintained throughout the storage period. The preliminary results obtained after 12 months of storage indicate that chemical wine evolution might be greatly influenced by the packaging characteristics (i.e. packaging material and volume). Furthermore, also the temperature used during the storage period plays a key role on the evolution of wine since it can directly influence the oxygen permeability of the system “wine + package”.

Biography:

Maryam Jokar completed her PhD at the University Putra Malaysia in 2012. She was senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Food Technology in the Damghan Branch of Islamic Azad University of Iran. She started her Post-doctoral fellowship in the Research Group for Nano-Bio Science in National Food Institute of the Technical University of Denmark in 2015. She has published 10 papers in reputed journals and her research area is innovative food packaging and migration studies from food packaging nanomaterials.

Abstract:

Development of nanomaterials has created great interest in the field of food packaging. Migration of nanostructured components from food packaging nanomaterials is one of the most important concerns in safety and potential health risk issues. If nanostructured components are released from food packaging nanomaterials into food and drinks, they lead to consumer exposure. The toxicity of migrated nanostructured components is related to small size, increased surface area, and high bioavailability through natural biological barriers. Standard migration test according to EU regulations are well established for quantification of conventional small molecules whose chemical and physical structure remains stable during migration test. Nanoparticles are, however, known for their potential to agglomerate and dissolve in changing chemical surroundings. The behavior of polyethylene glycol coated silver nanoparticles in food simulants of ethanol 10%, ethanol 20%, ethanol 50%, acetic acid 3% and olive oil was studied using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry in single particle mode. Results showed that the particle size, agglomeration state, particle number concentration and dissolution to silver ions varied significantly in different food simulants after incubation for 4 hours at 40°C. Further, the potential of ionic silver to form nanoparticles in food simulants was studied. The results of this study lead to deeper insight into migration test and food simulants in migration studies of food contact nanomaterials, as future work needs to investigate if the observed behavior of nanoparticles in food simulants is the same as in real food matrices, and consequently, if the conventional food simulants are applicable for migration studies of nanomaterials.

Biography:

Sanmartin C has completed her graduation in Food Biotechnologies, with a PhD in Science of Plant Productions. She is a Researcher at DAFE UNIPI with 7 years of experience. She conducts R&D activities, development and validation of analytical methods for food quality of raw materials and products, qualification, characterization and monitoring of food technologies. She is the author of 30 scientific publications and presentations at national and international conferences. She is a Tutor for graduation and international fellowships.

Abstract:

Starting from the past two decades, among all the possible wine packaging materials it has been possible to observe an expansive utilization of polymeric materials including PET bottles, multilayer tetrabricks and bag-in-box type containers. As oxygen is one of the main factors affecting wine evolution as well as its deterioration, the careful management of oxygen represents a critical issue during wine production and storage. Packaging, being the barrier that protects wine against environmental conditions, plays a fundamental role in the preservation of the quality of wine during all its life cycle, just starting from the bottling. With the aim to determine the influence of packaging in preserving the quality of wine, in this research project the sensorial evolution of a white table wine stored in different packaging materials (glass bottles provided with different closures; bag-in-box containers; tetrabricks) and different volumes (2 volumes for each packaging) has been evaluated over a period of 12 months. For each packaging solution two different temperature levels (4°C and 20°C) were also maintained throughout the storage period. The preliminary results obtained after 12 months of storage indicate that sensorial wine evolution might be greatly influenced by the packaging characteristics (i.e., packaging material and volume). Furthermore, also the temperature used during the storage period plays a key role on the evolution of wine since it can directly influence the oxygen permeability of the system “wine + package”.

Biography:

Stephanie Degoutin has completed her PhD in 2007 from University of Lille and Post-doctoral studies from Institute of Polymer Science and Technology of Madrid. She is working as an Assistant Professor in the group Polymer Systems Engineering of Unité des Matériaux et Transformations at the University of Lille, France. She has published 20 papers in peer-reviewed journals mainly focused on drug release.

Abstract:

Our work concerns new poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVOH) cast films crosslinked with citric acid (CTR) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) and loaded with sodium benzoate (NaBz) as preservative agent, with different compositions of CTR, NaBz and HPβCD. The influence of HPβCD and processing parameters such as the crosslinking time on the physico-chemical and antimicrobial properties of the films were discussed. Permeability tests demonstrate that the presence of CTR and HPβCD does not modify PVOH barrier properties. Raman spectroscopy cartography shows that the NaBz distribution in the films is homogeneous, especially with HPβCD. The NaBz release in water is prolonged with HPβCD on one hand for high crosslinking times and, on the second hand, in the assays carried out at low temperature (4°C). The released quantity is increased from 40% to 70% when NaBz is included into HPβCD cavity. Antimicrobial assays were performed against S. aureus, E. coli, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger. Without HPβCD, all films present a contact antimicrobial activity thanks to grafted CTR and the best diffusion activity was obtained for 6 wt% NaBz for the four microorganisms. With HPβCD, the antimicrobial activity by diffusion was increased with crosslinking times. These results demonstrate the high potential of PVOH/CTR/HPβCD cast films as antimicrobial food packagings.

Biography:

Gearóid O Laighin is Professor of Electronic Engineering at NUI Galway, Principle Investigator in the Bioelectronics cluster in the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science, NUI Galway and Investigator in the SFI CÚRAM Centre for Research in Medical Devices, NUI Galway.He graduated with a B.E. degree (first class honours) in Electrical Engineering and a M.Eng.Sc. degree in Microelectronics both from University College Cork. He was awarded the Ph.D. degree at the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2000 for work on the "Dynamic Correction of Hemiplegic Drop Foot using Functional Electrical Stimulation".

Abstract:

The presence of excessive amounts of oxygen inside a food package at any point in the supply chain represents a real problem for the food industry, since it usually results in a detrimental effect on the food products contained with in that packaging. In an effort to counteract this problem, the food industry adopts many techniques to remove oxygen from the interior of packaged goods in order extend the shelf-lives of food products.In response to this identified need for a food-packaging based oxygen sensor,this paper describes the design of a smartphone enabled, RFID-based electronic system to monitor and record the presence of oxygen in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) food products throughout the supply chain.

Biography:

Nathdanai Harnkarnsujarit has completed his PhD from Department of Food Science and Technology, Kasetsart University, Thailand and Post-doctoral studies from Department of Food Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Japan. He is currently working as a Lecturer at the Department of Packaging and Materials Technology Kasetsart University, Thailand. He has published several papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an Associate Editorial Board Member of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

Abstract:

Hydrocolloids are film forming bio-based and edible materials containing wide varieties of properties. The present study investigated the macro-, micro- and molecular properties of several hydrocolloid composite films namely agar-agar (AGAR), hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), propylene glycol alginate (PGA), and microcrystalline cellulose gum (MCG). Several ratios of AGAR, HPMC and PGA were mixed with MCG and determined for their tensile and surface properties, water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), light transmission and microstructure using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The molecular structure was determined using an attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). The results showed that incorporation of MCG decreased light transmission, elongation and smoothness of the films due to an increased crystalline components. However, the incorporated MCG reduced tensile strength in all films possibly due to the interrupted polymer network by crystalline particles. The WVTR values of the films were in the order of HPMC>MCG>PGA>AGAR. The increased surface hydrophobicity of hydrocolloid composites correlated well with a decreased WVTR values; however, a diverse correlation was found for pure MCG films. The ATR-FTIR revealed an interaction between MCG and HPMC components via hydrogen bonding contributed to an improved water barrier properties and miscibility of microstructure. Conversely, the SEM revealed a phase separation between AGAR and MCG coincident with a decreased water vapor barrier. The PGA-MCG composite films showed a dense matrix with an identical WVTR and surface hydrophobicity. The mixing of hydrocolloid components effectively modified properties, micro- and molecular structures for desired characteristics of bio-based films.

Biography:

Francesca Melini has been working at the CREA - Alimenti e Nutrizione (Council for Agricultural Research and Economics – Centre for Food and Nutrition) since 2007. She acquired expertise on cereals and cereal products with a specific attention on food authenticity and labelling, protected designations of origin, sourdough and gluten-free bread. She published scientific papers and some book chapters on food authenticity, protected designations of origin, legume flours in breadmaking. Since January she has been serving at CREA-AN as an editorial board member of the EU School Fruit Scheme that aims at promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables among schoolchildren.
 

Abstract:

Cereals and cereal-based products are at the base of the Mediterranean diet, and hence play a pivotal role in the diet of many countries. Each year, tons of cereal products (e.g., breakfast cereals, bread, pasta, etc.) are marketed to increasingly sophisticated consumers that expect them to be delivered in a desired state.

This work aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the changes that occurred along the cereal chain in terms of packaging, with emphasis on the shift from tradition to innovation, and on the pros and cons thereof.

An overview of how cereal products used to be sold during the first half of last century is first briefly provided, and the advantages and disadvantages of bulk form marketing are discussed. Packaging, as a tool to maintain shelf-life, guarantee physical protection from biological, physical or chemical contamination, and bring information to consumers, is highlighted.

The tight relationship between packaging and labelling is also stressed. Over the last decades, packaging regularly hosts labels, so that consumers can be quickly and easily informed about food nutritional values (e.g., health claims, Recommended Dietary Allowance, etc.), food authenticity, in terms of ingredients (e.g., the Italian case of pasta for which ingredient requiements are laid down by law), and geographical origin. The role played by packaging design is also discussed, as a messenger of quality, tradition, dietary habits and scientific knowledge.

The case of artisanal bread and/or baked-products will be discussed.

Biography:

Kurniawan Yuniarto is pursuing his PhD degree at Bogor Agricultural University. His research interest includes packaging science based on biodegradable polymer. Recently, he developed active film for oxygen scavenging using synthetic and natural antioxidant. He has published some film packaging articles related to oxygen permeability, physical properties, morphological properties and thermal properties. He has research collaboration with Department of Packaging Science, University of Florida from 2013-2015. 

Abstract:

Introducing plasticizer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG 400) was applied onto poly(lactic acid) PLA to produce matrix film by direct casting. Non mechanical properties were carried out on plasticized PLA including morphology, crystallinity structure and degree, thermal properties and oxygen barrier properties. Plasticized PLA revealed improving surface structure of PLA matrix film form fractures and homogenous film were achieved at 5% PEG 400. Chromatogram PLA and plasticized PLA categorized crystal structure, a α-form crystal. Intercalated and exfoliated structure did not occur significantly due to dispersion of PEG 400 in the matrix but indicated dispersion structure. Thermal properties did not improve the plasticized PLA significantly for both glass temperature and melting temperature. PEG 400 accelerated the crystal formation that in turn increased the crystallinity degree from 17.71% to 34.64%. Plasticized PLA enhanced permeability value about 20% while largest fraction PEG400 reduced ability to prevent oxygen penetration through the film. The oxygen barrier properties significantly affected the degree of crystallinity in the film with a correlation number of 0.85.