Ingegnerizzazione dei modelli predittivi di shelf-life per alimenti secchi confezionati con bioplastiche: un approccio integrato

In this Ph.D. thesis a mathematical model was developed to predict the shelf life (SL) of dry foods when packed with bioplastic materials. To this aim, an integrated approach was exploited, meaning that all factors that contributes to the outcome of SL forecasting models (e.g., packaging barrier properties, consumer rejection, quality decay rate) are firstly studied individually, and accounted together for the prediction. Therefore, different packaging materials and dry food products were investigated to assessing the moisture-food matrix and moisture-packaging affinity, as both concur to affecting the quality loss rate during storage. Following, the impact of polybutylene succinate capsules on the quality of espresso coffee brew as affected by moisture was assessed. Finally, the collected findings were employed to develop and validate an integrated shelf life predictive tool able to account for dynamic humidity changes during storage. Acquired results underscored the importance of adopting an integrated approach for achieving accurate predictions, particularly when addressing complex phenomena, as in the case of bioplastics adoption. Acquired results demonstrated that the concept of shelf-life extension may not be longer applicable in the current scenario of bioplastics adoption for dry food packaging. Conversely shifting to bioplastics requires a compromise between environmental sustainability, food waste reduction, and a sufficiently long shelf life. In light of these food technology and engineering play a key role in reshaping food safety and food security paradigm.