Making a compostable packaging film...How the CHITEXO story started...

Did you know that even the inside of soft drink cans is lined with a plastic film? Our directors were aware, but the opportunity to develop a film that could be used for products much closer to home was a promising starting point.

Chitexo’s Managing Director, Jonathan, and Research Director, Emma, first began discussing the potential merits of mealworm chitin in 2022. At the time, both were already Directors and Founders of their own businesses, and they collaborated on an Innovate UK-funded grant to explore this promising material. Jonathan had previously worked successfully with shellfish chitosans, mainly derived from crab shells. Emma’s business was an established mealworm farm and a producer of food, feed, and fertiliser. She was particularly interested in the potential uses of the insects’ exoskeletons, which are shed naturally.

Jonathan and his team of scientists succeeded in creating a film from mealworm chitosans that adhered effectively to plain packaging materials, which had been specifically chosen to contain edible feed and fertiliser for Emma’s existing products. Further collaboration with Bangor University through the Innovate UK project demonstrated that the film also possessed gas and moisture barrier properties. Overall, this was a highly successful project, and the fine-tuning of the packaging film is still ongoing.