'Shrimp shells' could replace plastic packaging: study

Packaging made from recycled crustacean shells could reduce the need for plastic wrappings to preserve fresh vegetables, reduce oil consumption and give food a longer shelf-life.

Chitosan, a bio-plastic made by isolating organic matter from shrimp shells, was shown to help preserve the shelf-life of baby carrots, in a new study published in the journal Postharvest Biology and Technology. “You can almost double the shelf-life of carrots with chitosan,” says Koro de la Caba, a professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of the Basque Country, who wrote the study.