A new European project BioBarr, has received funding to research the development of novel bio-based and biodegradable food packaging materials.

The €3.78m grant was offered by the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Leveraging polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) bioplastic developed by Bio-on, the BioBarr project will also aim to improve and strengthen the materials’ barrier functionalities.

BioBarr will further focus on the PHAs' capacity to protect packed food through the validation of a series of food products with different shelf-lives.

"It will allow us to study and increase the potential of our bioplastic in the food packaging sector for new solutions in the wider consumer sectors."

The research, to be coordinated by Tecnoalimenti, will further validate the bioplastic’s application in real working environments inside the food industry.

It will take around four years to complete the research, which will see the involvement of seven public and private entities from Italy, Spain, Denmark and Finland.

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Bio-on chairman and CEO Marco Astorri said: “We are extremely proud to take part in the BioBarr project, to be an active part in this varied team of complementary researchers and companies.

“It will allow us to study and increase the potential of our bioplastic in the food packaging sector for new solutions in the wider consumer sectors.”

Made from renewable plant sources, Bio-on’s PHAs bioplastic offers high thermo-mechanical and rheological performance, ductility, and aesthetic characteristics.

Bio-on, the main scientific partner of BioBarr, will use €800,000 from the EU grant to produce, develop and demonstrate its PHAs film as per requirements of the research project.