Cellulose derivatives-snail slime films: New disposable eco-friendly materials for food packaging

In recent decades, synthetic plastic polymers have been the most practical and economical solution for packaging applications due to their low cost, availability, excellent optical, mechanical and barrier properties and resistance against water. However, most of the plastics used for packaging are hardly biodegradable. With a view to a circular economy, the aim of this work focused on the development of a new material made of commercial cellulose derivatives (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose or carboxymethyl cellulose) mixed with snail mucus extracted from Helix Aspersa Muller. Increasing in Snail Mucus content enhances films elongation and adhesion strength while decreasing water vapor permeability. The cellulose-snail mucus based films are highly transparent but, more interestingly, the mucus confers UV-screening effect. In addition, the composite films exhibit antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, snail mucus addition to carboxymethyl cellulose strongly decreases films solubility in water. The biodegradation tests indicate that all the films degrade in soil between two and four weeks. The excellent results indicate that these biocomposite films are very good candidate for food packaging.