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Contributions aux enjeux des transitions dans les domaines des produits et matériaux durables
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This paper is not primarily about microplastics. It is a broad research summary covering sustainable food systems, life cycle assessment methodologies, alternative proteins, and biodegradable food packaging materials. While it briefly mentions including microplastics in life cycle assessment methods, the focus is on food system sustainability and antimicrobial packaging rather than microplastic contamination or health effects.
Sustainable food systems are essential to ensure food security and healthy diets for future generations. To make the transition to sustainability, many activities in the food system need to be transformed through systemic thinking skills involving diverse knowledge, bio-resources, materials and processes. My research projects have focused on a central question that aims to provide practical tools and knowledge to contribute to this transition, through (i) eco-designing of sustainable processes for thermal treatment of heat-sensitive and fouling liquids; (ii) developing of life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies for agro-industrial systems, through the inclusion of microbiological risk and microplastics, LCA coupling with techno-economic analysis, and multi-criteria sustainability analysis; (iii) studying the sustainability and acceptability of alternative proteins, especially for insect-based foods and meat analogs; (iii) exploring ways to valorise by-products and local bioresources for a circular economy; and (iv) developing biodegradable antimicrobial materials based on nanoemulsions and microcapsules for food biopreservation to reduce plastic and food losses throughout the value chain. Other challenges that I will seek to address in the rest of my scientific career are the identification of synergies and combinations for new antimicrobial materials, such as biomimetic assemblies of nanostructured elements combined with biobased antimicrobial agents from abundant agro-industrial by-products.
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Microplastics in food packaging: Analytical methods, health risks, and sustainable alternatives
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This review examines how microplastics from food packaging materials can migrate into the food we eat during storage and handling. It evaluates analytical methods for detecting this contamination and suggests biodegradable polymers as promising eco-friendly alternatives, while noting that standardized testing methods and risk assessment frameworks are still needed.
Evaluation of Possible Contaminants from Sustainable Materials Intended for Food Contact
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This paper has limited direct relevance to microplastics; it evaluates chemical contaminants that can migrate from sustainable natural-material food packaging into food and beverages, though its focus is on bio-based packaging alternatives rather than plastic particle pollution.
Microplastic release from food processing to the environment: contamination pathways, health implications, and sustainability perspectives
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This review integrates evidence on how microplastics migrate from food processing equipment, packaging, and preparation into the food supply, examining contamination pathways, human health implications, and opportunities for sustainable intervention. The food processing chain represents a major but undercharacterized exposure route for dietary microplastic intake, making this synthesis critical for understanding total human body burden.
Bio-based and Sustainable Food Packaging Technology: Relevance, Challenges and Prospects
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A review assessed bio-based and sustainable food packaging technologies, evaluating their relevance as replacements for conventional plastic packaging that generates microplastic pollution. The study identifies the most promising materials and the barriers to scaling up plastic-free food packaging.
Updated and comprehensive characterization factors for microplastics in life cycle assessment considering multimedia fate modelling
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Researchers updated life cycle assessment characterization factors for microplastics, developing comprehensive factors that account for ecosystem quality, human health, and socioeconomic impacts across multiple environmental compartments. The updated factors enable LCA practitioners to more accurately compare the plastic pollution impacts of different product systems and waste management strategies.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.