Compostable coffee pods; ‘Guest’ molecules in starch alter digestion of glucose

Compostable coffee pods
Single-serve pods and capsules have changed how coffee, tea, and other hot drinks are made and consumed, enabling faster preparation and greater product customization. But the packaging waste does present some problems. About 9.1 billion single-serve coffee and drink cartridges wind up in U.S. landfills annually, amounting to some 19 million cubic feet of waste, according to Rogers Family Co., Lincoln, Calif. To address the challenge of waste and recyclability, Rogers Family has developed and launched a groundbreaking single-serve coffee product that is 97% biodegradable.

Called OneCup BIO, the product is composed of bio-based material sourced from renewable natural resources, including vegetable oil, various plant starches (mainly corn), and wood pulp. The package will degrade in an anaerobic environment without air or sunlight. However, it does require moisture to biodegrade and will not leave any measurable toxic residue.

The mesh filter is the only non-biodegradable part of the new package and the company is working to make the filter biodegradable to render the OneCup BIO waste-free. The product is available at various retailers across the U.S. and claims to have the highest percentage of biodegradability of any single-serve coffee product.

Earlier last year, Canterbury Coffee, Burnaby, B.C., Canada, introduced OneCoffee, claimed to be the world’s first biodegradable, fair-trade, organic K-Cup compatible cup for use with Keurig coffee makers. The soft-bottomed cups use 40% less plastic than K-Cups, are 90% compostable/ biodegradable, and the packaging is said to be carbon neutral.

This past fall, Biome Bioplastics Ltd., Southampton, U.K., announced it has developed a portfolio of compostable materials for coffee pods based on renewable, natural resources, such as plant starches and tree byproducts. These bioplastics are said to degrade to prescribed international standards in composting environments.

“Single-serve coffee pods are an excellent example of the fundamental role that packaging plays in delivering quality and convenience in the foodservice sector,” declared CEO Paul Mines. “The challenge is to reduce environmental impact through packaging optimization without impacting food quality or safety, or inconveniencing the customer. Bioplastics are an important part of the solution.”

‘Guest’ molecules in starch alter digestion of glucose
A Purdue University researcher has developed a novel method of modifying the digestion of starch which may offer a simple, cost-effective way of preventing Type 2 diabetes. Srinivas Janaswamy, Research Assistant Professor of Food Science, found that inserting “guest” molecules into the natural structure of potato starch causes glucose to be released more slowly during in vitro digestion. Slow, sustained glucose release could help stave off Type 2 diabetes and other health problems associated with elevated blood glucose levels.

“Embedding molecules in the water pockets of starch is a simple and practical way of tweaking starch digestion,” Janaswamy said. “Having the ability to slow down the digestion of starch would revolutionize the way we approach a number of health issues.”

Janaswamy embedded guest molecules in the natural structure of potato starch, which has a lattice-like arrangement of water channels and starch double helixes. He dissolved the guest molecules in a solvent and added them to submerged raw potato starch granules. The guest molecules then became entrapped in the water channels of the starch. “We’re not chemically modifying starch in any way,” he said.

Janaswamy discovered that embedding guest molecules in raw potato starch significantly altered starch digestion rates, in some cases slowing the release of glucose by 22% during the initial 120 minutes of in vitro digestion.

Adding beneficial guest molecules such as vitamins, drugs, dietary supplements and flavor compounds to starch could promote health, prevent disease, and improve food flavor. In his study, Janaswamy successfully embedded a variety of molecules, including vitamin C, ibuprofen, curcumin, and the flavor compound thymol. “We could use this research to create food products that deliver healthful compounds to the body—potato chips that contain extra vitamins or antioxidants, for example,” he said.

Because humans cannot digest raw starch, further research is needed to ensure that cooking the starch does not destroy the guest molecules, noted Janaswamy. “I believe that even if the starch is cooked, we will be able to preserve the functionality of the encapsulated molecules,” he said. “This could be a completely new way to add health-promoting compounds to food products.”

Janaswamy’s research, Encapsulation altered starch digestion: Toward developing starch-based delivery systems, was published in the January 2014 issue of Carbohydrate Polymers.

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