AQUAPACK: Sustainable packaging solutions for food and cosmetics based on aquatic biomass and sidestreams

The EU-CONEXUS alliance is proud to announce its participation in the groundbreaking AQUAPACK project, which aims to revolutionise packaging solutions for food and cosmetics through the use of sustainable materials derived from aquatic biomass. Four key academic partners in this project—Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), La Rochelle Université (LRUniv), Universidad Católica de Valencia (UCV), and University of Zadar (UNIZD)—are EU-CONEXUS members and form a strong, specialised training network.

AQUAPACK addresses the challenge of reducing plastic pollution by developing transnationally designed innovations for novel biodegradable packaging systems. The overall objective of this project is to integrate the resulting innovations and evaluate their effect on the quality and safety of perishable food and cosmetics in supply chains across the EU region and beyond. That includes the introduction of economically and environmentally sustainable packaging materials based on marine biomass (micro- and macroalgae, fish processing side streams, and by-catch).

Well-designed secondments between academic and industrial partners with complementary capacities are intended to:

• Produce economically and environmentally sustainable, low-carbon packaging materials based on aquatic biomass and side streams that can appropriately preserve the quality and safety of food and cosmetics products from their production to consumption;
• Design and test biodegradable packaging materials suitable for fish fillets and cosmetics by developing: (i) biodegradable, active films for food and cosmetics using blue biomass; (ii) biodegradable films suitable for secondary packaging of cosmetics; and (iii) an innovative direct freshness monitoring system (biosensor) applicable across the supply chain of perishable products;
• Improve the sustainability of the food and cosmetics sectors by preserving product quality, extending shelf life, and thus reducing waste;
• Reduce waste from packaging materials by applying non-plastic, biodegradable packaging solutions for food and cosmeceutical products;
• Assess the sustainability and safety of the newly introduced packaging solutions in comparison to commonly used packaging alternatives for food and cosmetics;
• Provide cross-cutting interdisciplinary knowledge exchange, technology transfer, and training to improve employability and career prospects.

The project is coordinated by the Agricultural University of Athens and involves eight (8) research and technology development (RTDs) institutions, each with expertise in specific stages of sustainable, active, and smart packaging development, characterization, and application. It also involves seven (7) medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that will contribute with regard to the implementation strategy and scale-up processes.

The partners will leverage their pre-existing networks of industry collaborators to conduct field trials when appropriate, providing proof of concept to promote the adoption of the developed technologies and materials along the fish and cosmetics value chains. Strong involvement of other stakeholders in project actions for co-creation, training, and dissemination will be used to promote and validate AQUAPACK solutions as well.