Made with polyurethane and plant fibers, packages for fruits that accompany the shape of their content are capable of preventing transportation damages and, consequently, product loss (check video). Developed in a partnership among different institutions, the new packages should be available in the market until the end of the year. According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/UN), about one third of food production in the world is lost during distribution or wasted in consumption. More than half of this loss and waste happens during handling, storage, and trade. The development of anatomic packaging for fruits was one of the strategies studied to reduce such data. It was performed by a team of 30 researchers from Embrapa Food Technology, the National Institute of Technology (INT) and the Institute of Macromolecules (IMA) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) The new packaging generates less mechanical impact, maintains sensory quality, and increases fruits' useful life. The genuinely Brazilian technology has already obtained 39 patents at the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and it received the Food Packaging Design Award (2013) in Germany. The packages were initially designed to meet selected fruits. "We chose products with nationally and internationally significant sales volumes such as mango and papaya, and also those economically important for the state of Rio de Janeiro, such as persimmon and strawberry", informed Antonio Gomes, Embrapa researcher and one of the leaders of the project. Fruits with different shapes and sizes went through a 3D (three-dimensional) -scanning process at the National Institute of Technology. From this work, physical models were designed and elaborated with expanded polyurethane added with plant fibers, considering the shapes and several sizes of fruits, in order to facilitate transportation, handling, and exposure. "The packaging models allow these fruits to be better arranged in trays whose cavities were specially designed. Thus, it reduces the occurrence of mechanical injuries. In addition, the design of this packaging system allows higher ventilation of fruits, promoting gas exchange with the environment, slowing their ripening and increasing their useful life", says Gil Brito, from the Division of Industrial Design at INT. The mango and papaya packages, which are anatomical, have two parts: a thermoformed one and an articulated thermoinjected one, which can be closed to take up less space during return transportation to the farmer. The design of packages took into consideration the international standard of pallets for national and international cargo transportation. A thermoformed piece is molded by the action of heat, a thermoinjected piece is made by injection of liquid resin in a high temperature in a mold. Praticality and fruit protection Family farmers from Nova Friburgo, in Rio de Janeiro, tested this new packaging system for strawberries. "This packaging is more practical and hygienic because it prevents the entry of insects. It also protects the fruit more, which is very sensitive", affirms Dacir Condak, responsible for the Association of Family Strawberry Farmers of Nova Friburgo (Amorango). Tests carried out with twenty farmers from the association identified the need to enlarge the packaging in order to arrange larger fruits without kneading. This has already been incorporated into the product. While this new adapted packaging does not reach the market, farmer Dacir Condak, who has grown strawberries for 35 years, keeps using the open package covered with PVC film. "Indeed it is not the most adequate, but it is the one every farmer uses", he says. Likewise, the wood boxes currently used at the Food Supply Centers (Ceasa) and at street markets are still widely used together with returnable plastic boxes from supermarkets. "The problem is that the boxes used are the same, regardless of the shape and size of the fruit, leading to large economic losses for the whole production chain, especially for the consumer, who pays more for the product", warns Antonio Gomes, a researcher at Embrapa. Studies proved that the use of the new anatomical packaging generates less mechanical impact (less shocks) and better aspect and durability of fruits. According to the researchers, with papaya the post-harvest losses observed were only 2%, instead of 25%, as it usually happens. As for persimmon, the result was also significant: "The new packaging extended the useful life of persimmon fruits between four and six days in comparison with the wood box; and between two and three days in comparison with the cardboard box. The study also pointed out the consumer preference for persimmon fruit transported in the new packaging" tells the Embrapa researcher Marcos Fonseca, who guided and supervised the study of the new packaging for transportation and commercialization of persimmon, carried out by Maristella Martineli from the Postgraduate Program in Food Science at UFRJ. In addition to reducing post-harvest losses, the anatomic boxes also generate efficiency for packaging by accommodating fruits of several sizes. The classification of the fruit by size, color, and shape can be performed directly by the farmer in the field and they can go straight to the market. If the fruit goes to the packinghouse, the time spent in the packaging process is 50% shorter with the new technology, according to the researchers. The packages are also ecologically correct, using natural fibers as raw material. It was developed at the Center for Excellence in Recycling and Sustainable Development (NERDES) from the Institute of Macromolecules at UFRJ. The laboratory team works for the development of technologies that prioritize saving raw materials and energy with less environmental impact. "For these packages, we have developed a composite based on polymers and lignocellulosic fiber waste. It is a completely Brazilian technology created to meet a national demand that is the minimization of agricultural losses. Besides the environmental, social, and economic justification, part of the material used to make the packaging is waste, that is, it would be thrown away" the UFRJ professor Elen Pacheco says. Biodegradable nanotechnology This type of material gave more degradability (capacity of decomposing in nature) to the packaging and reduced the estimated environmental impact by between 10% to 30%. The research team is looking for more: "We want to develop packages for other fruits that were not studied, such as bananas, grapes, and peaches, and elaborate a packaging that is produced entirely from waste", Elen Pacheco tells. Thus, the research projects are now aimed at the nanotechnology area, with analysis of nanocharges of plant fibers in composites, which could be used in civil construction, furniture manufacturing, as well as the production of the new packaging. This project of new packaging development was financed by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), involving three public institutions, with participation of the private sector in the industrial validation phase. Two national industries initially worked on the elaboration of prototypes validated by the production sector. What is the cost? "We have tried to balance the needs of each fruit within a packaging system that could be as standardized as possible. We observed the reality of production, transportation, and commercialization in national and international markets, so that the production costs could be admissible by the main participants of the process" said Gil Brito, from the Division of Industrial Design at the National Institute of Technology.
Made with polyurethane and plant fibers, packages for fruits that accompany the shape of their content are capable of preventing transportation damages and, consequently, product loss (
check video). Developed in a partnership among different institutions, the new packages should be available in the market until the end of the year.
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (
FAO/UN), about one third of food production in the world is lost during distribution or wasted in consumption. More than half of this loss and waste happens during handling, storage, and trade. The development of anatomic packaging for fruits was one of the strategies studied to reduce such data. It was performed by a team of 30 researchers from
Embrapa Food Technology, the National Institute of Technology (
INT) and the Institute of Macromolecules (
IMA) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (
UFRJ) The new packaging generates less mechanical impact, maintains sensory quality, and increases fruits' useful life. The genuinely Brazilian technology has already obtained 39 patents at the National Institute of Industrial Property (
INPI) and it received the Food Packaging Design Award (2013) in Germany.
The packages were initially designed to meet selected fruits. "We chose products with nationally and internationally significant sales volumes such as mango and papaya, and also those economically important for the state of Rio de Janeiro, such as persimmon and strawberry", informed Antonio Gomes, Embrapa researcher and one of the leaders of the project. Fruits with different shapes and sizes went through a 3D (three-dimensional) -scanning process at the National Institute of Technology. From this work, physical models were designed and elaborated with expanded polyurethane added with plant fibers, considering the shapes and several sizes of fruits, in order to facilitate transportation, handling, and exposure.
"The packaging models allow these fruits to be better arranged in trays whose cavities were specially designed. Thus, it reduces the occurrence of mechanical injuries. In addition, the design of this packaging system allows higher ventilation of fruits, promoting gas exchange with the environment, slowing their ripening and increasing their useful life", says Gil Brito, from the Division of Industrial Design at INT. The mango and papaya packages, which are anatomical, have two parts: a thermoformed one and an articulated thermoinjected one, which can be closed to take up less space during return transportation to the farmer. The design of packages took into consideration the international standard of pallets for national and international cargo transportation. A thermoformed piece is molded by the action of heat, a thermoinjected piece is made by injection of liquid resin in a high temperature in a mold.
Praticality and fruit protection
Family farmers from Nova Friburgo, in Rio de Janeiro, tested this new packaging system for strawberries. "This packaging is more practical and hygienic because it prevents the entry of insects. It also protects the fruit more, which is very sensitive", affirms Dacir Condak, responsible for the Association of Family Strawberry Farmers of Nova Friburgo (Amorango). Tests carried out with twenty farmers from the association identified the need to enlarge the packaging in order to arrange larger fruits without kneading. This has already been incorporated into the product. While this new adapted packaging does not reach the market, farmer Dacir Condak, who has grown strawberries for 35 years, keeps using the open package covered with PVC film. "Indeed it is not the most adequate, but it is the one every farmer uses", he says.
Likewise, the wood boxes currently used at the Food Supply Centers (Ceasa) and at street markets are still widely used together with returnable plastic boxes from supermarkets. "The problem is that the boxes used are the same, regardless of the shape and size of the fruit, leading to large economic losses for the whole production chain, especially for the consumer, who pays more for the product", warns Antonio Gomes, a researcher at Embrapa.
Studies proved that the use of the new anatomical packaging generates less mechanical impact (less shocks) and better aspect and durability of fruits. According to the researchers, with papaya the post-harvest losses observed were only 2%, instead of 25%, as it usually happens.
As for persimmon, the result was also significant: "The new packaging extended the useful life of persimmon fruits between four and six days in comparison with the wood box; and between two and three days in comparison with the cardboard box. The study also pointed out the consumer preference for persimmon fruit transported in the new packaging" tells the Embrapa researcher Marcos Fonseca, who guided and supervised the study of the new packaging for transportation and commercialization of persimmon, carried out by Maristella Martineli from the Postgraduate Program in Food Science at UFRJ.
In addition to reducing post-harvest losses, the anatomic boxes also generate efficiency for packaging by accommodating fruits of several sizes. The classification of the fruit by size, color, and shape can be performed directly by the farmer in the field and they can go straight to the market. If the fruit goes to the packinghouse, the time spent in the packaging process is 50% shorter with the new technology, according to the researchers.
The packages are also ecologically correct, using natural fibers as raw material. It was developed at the Center for Excellence in Recycling and Sustainable Development (NERDES) from the Institute of Macromolecules at UFRJ. The laboratory team works for the development of technologies that prioritize saving raw materials and energy with less environmental impact.
"For these packages, we have developed a composite based on polymers and lignocellulosic fiber waste. It is a completely Brazilian technology created to meet a national demand that is the minimization of agricultural losses. Besides the environmental, social, and economic justification, part of the material used to make the packaging is waste, that is, it would be thrown away" the UFRJ professor Elen Pacheco says.
Biodegradable nanotechnology
This type of material gave more degradability (capacity of decomposing in nature) to the packaging and reduced the estimated environmental impact by between 10% to 30%. The research team is looking for more: "We want to develop packages for other fruits that were not studied, such as bananas, grapes, and peaches, and elaborate a packaging that is produced entirely from waste", Elen Pacheco tells. Thus, the research projects are now aimed at the nanotechnology area, with analysis of nanocharges of plant fibers in composites, which could be used in civil construction, furniture manufacturing, as well as the production of the new packaging.
This project of new packaging development was financed by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), involving three public institutions, with participation of the private sector in the industrial validation phase. Two national industries initially worked on the elaboration of prototypes validated by the production sector. What is the cost? "We have tried to balance the needs of each fruit within a packaging system that could be as standardized as possible. We observed the reality of production, transportation, and commercialization in national and international markets, so that the production costs could be admissible by the main participants of the process" said Gil Brito, from the Division of Industrial Design at the National Institute of Technology.
