Equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging (EMAP) is used for prolonging the shelf life of fresh produce
such as fruits and vegetables and preserving their quality characteristics such as freshness, colour and
aroma. However, the resulting extensive use of plastic packaging
films raises serious environmental
concerns. Replacing conventional plastic
films with novel biobased and biodegradable under composting
conditions materials such as
films made of poly-lactic acid (PLA), offers new sustainable solutions to the
problem. In the present work, the gas transport properties of three layer PLA
films have been studied in
relation to their potential as EMA packaging materials for fresh produce. A simple one-dimensional
model simulating the combined gas diffusion through micro-perforations and the permeable membrane
was developed as a designing tool for PLA based EMA packaging systems. By using this model, innovative
biodegradable bio-based EMAP systems were designed specifically for selected fruits and vegetables
using laser microperforated, water vapour (WV) permeable PLA
films. It was shown that the relatively
high water vapour permeability of PLA
films compared to conventional OPP
films allows the development
of an optimised biodegradable bio-based EMA packaging for the specific applications