The project DetoxPak has since 2021 worked on the development of an active food packaging technology enabling selective removal of environmental pollutants from seafood products. The aim is to reduce the exposure for consumers to toxins in the fish produce, mainly mercury and dioxins, and thus improve the quality of these food products during storage and their shelf life.
Led by Chalmers University, the project has engaged Orkla Foods, SLU and Packbridge as project partners and has during the development of the active technology developed and tested two new technologies for removal of mercury in an active packaging solution.
TECHNOLOGY 1
The first technology examined an active solution added to the barrier coating. Three active coatings was developed and tested. The first based on industrially available and used coating for canned fish in metal packages. The second based on epoxy and the third on polyurethane resins. This method using active coatings was found to be very effective in a wide range of food simulants in liquid mediums for liquid foods making it a promising technology for mercury removal. However, tests have shown that as the mercury toxins is trapped and tightly bound inside the fish muscle and a lack of contact to the active coating limits its application in solid fish products, like fish fillet. Further, project findings showed that the binders currently used in the coating industry are promising platforms for the immobilization of adsorbents and the development of active coatings for food detoxification.
If you’re interested to learn more, below you’ll find the published article:
TECHNOLOGY 2
The second technology examined the extraction of mercury from canned fish using its soaking medium in the packaging. The aqueous mediums commonly used in canned fish were reengineered to selectively remove mercury. The results proved promising as the solution showed to be able to extract mercury from the fish meat and stabilize it in the aqueous medium after a brief contact. The studies showed a reduction of mercury in canned fish, for these tests albacore tuna, by over 30% to the canning aqueous medium. However, the efficiency of mercury extraction using this technology is dependent on the size of fish meat; if its solid, chunk or minced; the amount of the added active solution and the time the fish meat has been soaked in the aqueous medium. This studies was conducted at the fish product’s natural pH during two weeks of storage. As the solutions contain only compounds naturally found in fish, this technology offers multiple advantages for implementation in industrial applications. Especially as the active solution will extract mercury from filling of the product, during storage and the packaging shelf life and be discarded after the package is opened, as is the norm of consuming behaviour.
If you’re interested to learn more, below you’ll find the published article:
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