Wheylayer: Sustainable Packaging with Whey Protein

The demands made on modern foodstuff packaging are high: the solutions here have to be ecological, economical, sustainable and functional. Consequently, the development of biopolymers is one of the current top trends in the research field of new packaging materials. The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV has now presented initial results of the European "Wheylayer" project. 

14 partners from seven EU countries are currently working on a revolution in terms of food packaging: called "Wheylayer" the project sets out to develop a sustainable packaging material with an economical production process that will use the excellent barrier properties of whey protein against oxygen and humidity so as to replace the conventional polymer layers in packaging with a natural product. 

Materials for food packaging have to fulfil particularly high requirements - from process-engineering ones through to barrier properties against water vapour and oxygen. The development of biopolymers that meet these demands is very high up on the agenda in current research. The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV located in the German town of Freising is involved in numerous public and industry funded projects focusing on the topic of "Biopolymers in Paper and Film Applications". And the key aim in all these projects is to develop both ecological and economical packaging. 

Presentation of Results at interpack 2011 

To achieve this goal materials must be renewable, satisfy food packaging requirements and their production must be possible at marketable prices. Previous biopolymers only achieved this to a limited extent. This is where the research activities of the joint European project "Wheylayer" come in. The project is scheduled to run for a total of three years - from 2008 to 2011 - and the final product is to be presented on conclusion of this period at interpack 2011: an innovative film coating with whey protein that is aimed at achieving greater foodstuff shelf life, saving production materials and, at the same time, cutting CO² emissions. 

The use of biopolymers in packaging materials improves the sustainability and biodegradability of packaging. The positive properties of this material group can be used here such as the antimicrobial and antioxidative effect of a film coated with whey protein. It is thought this will make it possible to obtain particularly pure protein isolates and optimise the film-forming properties of whey protein from sweet and sour whey by chemical modifications and enzymatic partial hydrolysis. Innovative whey protein formulations on the basis of these proteins are thought to both display a great barrier effect as well as excellent adhesion and resistance to mechanical strain. 

Renewable natural products can, however, only replace petrochemically-based polymer layers if they boast the necessary barrier properties against oxygen and hydrogen. A prototype of a protein film of this kind made of whey has already been presented as an intermediate result. The experts are now anticipating great potential from the final result.