IIT Roorkee students develop alternative paper, edible ink

In this research, under the guidance of Professor Kirtiraj K Gaikwad, Praveen Kumar Kunam has successfully developed ethylene-scavenging paper from pine needle waste, opening up new avenues in the field of sustainable packaging.

Notably, this innovative research tackles one of the biggest challenges of our times – deforestation for paper production. By utilising pine needle waste, this research offers a promising solution to reduce the ecological footprint of the paper industry.

In addition, this pine needle waste-based paper offers an excellent alternative to plastic-based packaging materials. Its unique ability to scavenge ethylene can significantly extend the shelf life of climacteric fruits and vegetables, thereby reducing food waste and promoting sustainable practices.

Lokman Hakim

Meanwhile, another MTech second-year student from the department of paper technology of IIT Roorkee, Lokman Hakim, under the supervision of Professor Kirtiraj K Gaikwad, won the second prize in the paper presentation in the area of sustainable food packaging at AMIFOST -2023. 

Lokman Hakim has successfully developed novel edible ink for food safety and packaging applications through his research. 

Edible ink will be in high demand in food printing and other sectors due to its unique safety features in the upcoming years. Stickers on fruits and vegetables cause several problems, and the migration of chemical-based ink harms human health and the environment. 

The alternative to stickers on food and chemical-based ink, edible ink can be the crunch point. 

Commercial inks are facing many challenges when using direct and indirect contact with food in food packaging and printing application due to harmful components, toxicity, set-off, gas phase transfer, ink migration, biodegradability, and cost. This edible ink will help to reduce the issues which are facing by traditional ink and ensure food safety. This edible is totally environmentally friendly and has other benefits such as natural, water-soluble, biodegradable, sustainable, antimicrobial, antioxidant, non-toxic, and medicinal properties. 

Prepared edible ink will reduce the cost and Rs 177 will be required to prepare 1-kg ink, whereas commercial kg edible ink costs more than Rs 10,000.

The edible ink has demonstrated excellent printing effects, solid content, colour, rub resistance, light fastness and visual recognition. The antioxidant activity of edible ink was analysed by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method. This ink was also applied through screen printing on different fruits and vegetables such as apple, mango, banana, cucumber, papaya, bottle gourd, cookie, edible cup, etc.