July/August 2023 - 7

LABELING TRENDS
" We kind of started out brainstorming
as a big group - what are certain things
that we could try and use? " McManus
said. " We tried to look at things based
on some of the work we've done on
bioplastics. We started with those
ingredients, then just made lots of
formulations. "
Millions of dollars in international
trade are at stake. Of the $12.54 billion
in fruits and vegetables exported by
the U.S. in 2022, $358.6 million went
to the European Union, according
to the USDA's Foreign Agricultural
Service (FAS).
Many plant-based adhesives include
oils, fatty acids, proteins, starches,
rosins, natural latex and rubber. For
use on PLU stickers, the adhesive must
be food-grade and generally recognized
as safe. McManus and his research team
aim to increase the bonding strength of
such natural adhesives so that PLUs will
 USDA research chemist James McManus
is leading an effort to make PLU
adhesives home compostable. Photo
courtesy of USDA.
remain affixed to fruit during export,
display and other handling.
The lab continually tests and modifies,
adding different ingredients and ratios
to formulate various adhesives.
" We put it down on backing, transfer it
over to the film which the label is going
to be made out of, and then see how well
that sticks to some of our test protocols
and to fruit as well, " McManus said.
A research grant proposal focused on
grapefruit and sweet potatoes, citing FAS
reports as well as data from international
retailers such as Walmart and Carrefour
that the loss of those exports to Europe
could cause the most economic harm.
But those parameters have expanded,
McManus said.
" (The adhesive) needs to work on
everything from kiwis that have kind
of a rough surface to peaches that have
fuzz on them to easier things like apples
and bananas that are pretty flat and
even to work with, " he said. " So we test
across a wide variety, and it's designed
to work on as many things as possible.
I won't say that we have tested every
single fruit out there, but we do try it
on different types of fruit. "
MADE IN
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7

http://kronencorp.com

July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2023

Table of Contents
Editor's Letter
Million-dollar motive
Defining sustainability
Handling with care
Keeping control
Product Focus section
Center for Produce Safety: The path to understanding pathogens
PMMI: Packaging the future
The Pulse
Upcoming events
Advertiser Index
July/August 2023 - 1
July/August 2023 - 2
July/August 2023 - Table of Contents
July/August 2023 - Editor's Letter
July/August 2023 - 5
July/August 2023 - Million-dollar motive
July/August 2023 - 7
July/August 2023 - 8
July/August 2023 - 9
July/August 2023 - Defining sustainability
July/August 2023 - 11
July/August 2023 - 12
July/August 2023 - 13
July/August 2023 - Handling with care
July/August 2023 - 15
July/August 2023 - 16
July/August 2023 - 17
July/August 2023 - Keeping control
July/August 2023 - 19
July/August 2023 - Product Focus section
July/August 2023 - 21
July/August 2023 - Center for Produce Safety: The path to understanding pathogens
July/August 2023 - 23
July/August 2023 - PMMI: Packaging the future
July/August 2023 - 25
July/August 2023 - The Pulse
July/August 2023 - Advertiser Index
July/August 2023 - 28
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