We are helping the world to waste less. By signing up for this MSc thesis, you can also be part of our team trying to replace single-use plastic wrappings from fruit and vegetables with alternative and more eco-friendly solutions.

Nowadays 33% of our food globally is wasted and at the same time 45% of our fruits and vegetables are. Agriculture is accounting for 25% of the total green-house gas emissions and for using 70% of our freshwater consumption. 

To this day, single-use plastic has been mainly used to extend the shelf-life of vegetables and fruits. Studies have shown that the reduction in food waste due to plastic wrapping yields to an environmental benefit. Yet, single-use plastic films contributed to 8.2 million tonnes of plastic waste in Europe in 2019.
With increasing restrictions on plastic use in Europe and rising consumer demand for sustainable products, wholesalers face mounting pressure to adopt eco-friendly packaging. The EU market urgently needs commercially viable, plant-based, edible, and EFSA-compliant solutions.  Especially for cucumbers, which are 95% water, maintaining moisture is key to freshness. 

In this project, we will focus on evaluating the effects of a newly developed, entirely plant based, edible and gluten free protection on cucumbers. We will test the novel protected product and its sensory characteristics, compared to the one in plastic (wrapping) and to unpacked solutions which are commonly used in retail for the same product category throughout their shelf-life.


Potential tasks and activities for this MSc thesis project (depending on the length and start date) may be:   

• Experimental set up, to examine the effects of packaging type (plastic, no packaging, plant-based) and storage time to identify whether there is a perceivable impact of the novel packaging on sensory characteristics (focus on taste, flavour, texture) as well as how these change within the product’s shelf life. 
• Sensory evaluation with a trained or semi-trained panel
• T5.4 Data analysis and interpretation of results
• Acquisition of ethics approval, data management plan and agreements as well as any other relevant necessary processes.