Sustainable and Eco-friendly Bacterial Cellulose Production Using Agro-Forest Waste for Food Packaging Applications: A Review

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a biopolymer with several unique properties, including high purity, crystallinity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and excellent mechanical strength. However, high production costs, mainly due to expensive culture media, limit large-scale industrial use.Driven by the European Union's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), which mandates that all food packages be recyclable or compostable by 2030 and bans several singleuse plastic formats, the industry urgently needs truly circular barrier materials. This review explores the potential of agro-forest waste as a sustainable and cost-effective carbon source for BC production, aiming to reduce both cost and environmental impact. Studies have highlighted successful BC production from agricultural and forest waste materials such as tree bark, fruit leaves, waste brewed tea, and ground coffee. Despite promising results, research on producing BC from agro-forest wastes specifically for food packaging remains limited. BC is considered suitable for food packaging due to its ultrafine network, high surface area, and strong mechanical properties. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive studies, particularly those applying life cycle assessment (LCA), to evaluate the sustainability and environmental impact of different BC production methods. By providing insights into BC production from agro-forest waste and its application in food packaging, this review considers the development of sustainable and economically viable production processes. It also describes the untapped potential of agro-forest waste valorisation in advancing environmentally friendly biopolymer alternatives for packaging solutions.