Summary/ Reader Response Draft #3

The nonbiodegradable plastic used by the general society has polluted our planet in a myriad of ways (Jones, 2022). With the aim to combat increasing plastic pollution, Jones (2022) has shed light on a newly developed food coating called 'Sprayed On, Rinse-off Food Wrapper’; by highlighting its non-toxic, antimicrobial, and biodegradable features; hinting at the opportunity for this innovation to replace plastic food packaging. This Spray On food coating is made up of Pullulan and other antimicrobial agents recognized by established institutions such as US Food and Drug Administration and Nature Food, to be harmless for human ingestion (Jones, 2022). Despite having these ingredients, the heart of this innovation resides in a new biomanufacturing system curated to construct 3D scaffolds composed of narrow fibers, also known as ‘Focused Rotary Jet Spinning (FRJS)’. Jones (2022) says that based on the experiment conducted by the researchers, the FRJS system generated gossamer fibers around the fruits; the results demonstrated a 40 percent significant decrease in the fruits’ decomposition. This experiment proved the coating rinsible, naturally biodegradable, and effective in prolonging the shelf life of fruits. Despite the lack of information on potentially generating hazardous by-products, this research paper has posited the Spray On food wrapping as a viable design for fresh food produce, due to its ability to eliminate foodborne diseases and its vast potential to replace plastic packaging.


The Spray On wrapper is embedded with antimicrobial pullulan fibres (APFs) which hinder the growth of microbial that give rise to devastating consequences of foodborne illness. This innovation is a sustainable solution to eliminate the growth of foodborne pathogens. When APFs are combined with nisin, lauric arginate, and thymol; the formidable antimicrobial agent is excellent at inhibiting the growth of common foodborne pathogens such as E. coli and Salmonella. The consequences of microbial contamination can reach an uncontainable level and it can cause threatening diseases in human society such as COVID-19 (Rai et al., 2021). To avoid such diseases, researchers developed pullulan-based antimicrobial systems. In a direct comparison of avocados with APFs coating and without, the period of 7 days resulted in the coated avocados having insignificant growth of E. coli; with minimal loss in fiber surface density, PH level, and surface firmness (Chang et al., 2022b). Evidently, APFs coating had effectively reduced the rotting process on fruits, proving to be a consistent antimicrobial and antifungal coating useable for fresh produces. With the Spray-On wrapper, the APFs coating will be able to prevent microbes from festering on the tissues of ripened fruit and vegetables (Rawat, 2015). 

 

Powered by the FRJS manufacturing system to coat over fresh produce, the Spray On wrapper offers a promising approach to replacing plastic packaging. It is not a secret that we are overly reliant on plastic packaging to limit the microbes' contamination (Rawat, 2015). The Spray-On wrapper is a viable substitute to replace plastic packaging to resolve the plastic problem. The APFs coating can keep fruits fresh due to the FRJS manufacturing system, a tissue engineering technique designed to produce microfiber and nanofiber (Rodrigues et al., 2019). FRJS employs centrifugal force and high-speed rotation to create a focused stream of preformed fibers, forcing the alignments of fibers to pattern around the structure (Chang et al, 2022a). The patterns surround the crop as a protective coating that has oxygen impenetrability and non-absorbent features. This is the same as a plastic film being wrapped around food as a shield. Unlike plastics, APFs are biodegradable in soil and easily dissolved in a liquid (Chang et al., 2022a). Factoring in the chance of scaled-up production, the coating process of APFs was tabulated to cost just a few cents for each crop (Chang et al., 2022a). Ultimately, the Spray On wrapper works even better than plastic in terms of food protection, thus it can replace plastic wrapping for crops.

 

The discovery of antimicrobials is considerably new as the research was sparked due to the recent appearance of life-threatening pathogens (Rai et al., 2021) Much remains unknown about the areas of pullulan-based antimicrobial systems applied in the bioactive nature-based secondary metabolites, essential oils, antimicrobial agents, and drugs (Rai et al., 2021). It is crucial to note that tests have shown the crosslinked PFs to display a slower degradation rate than pure PFs (Chang et al., 2022b). It is difficult to know that this may have a negative environmental consequence on our planet. Therefore, this is an area that we must actively research to understand.

 

Though more effort is required to understand the effects of APFs, the Spray On food wrapper is an irrefutable technology that has the potential to eliminate the chances of foodborne illness from arising, whilst replacing plastic wrappings for the betterment of our planet’s health. APFs have proven in various research that it is able to fight off harmful microbes, preventing microbial contamination from generating foodborne illness. With FRJS producing intricate layers around fresh crops, along with the protective abilities of APFs akin to common plastic films; the Spray On food wrapper is the perfect replacement for general plastic wrappings. Its cheap production and holistic care for the environment as outstanding ways to offer consumers affordable and high-quality fresh produce. However, with all new innovations, we should note that there is always a room that warrants further investigations so that we can fully guarantee the safety of the product.

 

Reference List:


Jones, S. (2022) Spray-On, Rinse-Off Food ‘Wrapper’ Can Cut Plastic Packaging. Scientific American.

 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/spray-on-rinse-off-food-lsquo-wrapper-rsquo-can-cut-plastic-packaging/

 

Rawat, S. (2015). Food Spoilage: Microorganisms and their prevention. Pelagia Research Library.

https://www.imedpub.com/articles/food-spoilage-microorganisms-and-their-prevention.pdf

 

Rodrigues, I. C. P., Tamborlin, L., Rodrigues, A. A., Jardini, A. L., Luchessi, A. D., Filho, R. M.,  Lopes, E. S. N. & Gabriel, L. P. (2019). Polyurethane fibrous membranes tailored by rotary jet spinning for tissue engineering applications. Wiley Online Library. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.singaporetech.remotexs.co/doi/full/10.1002/app.48455

 

Chang, H., Liu, Q., Zimmerman, J. F., Lee, K. Y., Jin Q., Peters, M. M., Rosnach, M., Choi, S., Kim, S. L., Ardoria, H. A. M., MacQueen, L. A., Chantre, C. O., Motta, S. E., Cordoves, E. M., Parker, K. K. (2022a). Recreating the heart’s helical structure-function relationship with focused rotary jet spinning. Science, 000(0000).

https://www.newswise.com/pdf_docs/165720851921965_abl6395%20(Shareable).pdf

 

Chang, H., Xu, J., Macqueen, L. A., Aytac, Z., Peters, M. M., Zimmerman, J. F., Xu, T., Demokritou, P. & Parker, K. K. (2022b). High-throughput coating with biodegradable antimicrobial pullulan fibres extends shelf life and reduces weight loss in an avocado model. Nature Food 3(428-436). https://diseasebiophysics.seas.harvard.edu/files/diseasebiophysics/files/high-throughput_coating_with_biodegradable_anitmicrobial_pullulan_fibres_extends_shelf_life_and_reduces_weight_loss_in_an_avocado.pdf

 

Rai, M., Wypij, M., Ingle, A. P., Wencel, J. T., Golinska, P. (2021). Emerging Trends in Pullulan-Based Antimicrobial Systems for Various Applications. National Library of Medicine.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34948392/

 

 

 

 

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