Viscosity of chitosan/montmorillonite mixtures for coatings on paperboard packages

The market of minimally processed food is increasing and as a result also the occurrence of food borne deceases, such as Listeria monocytogenes in e.g. meat. The increasing demand for fresh food has created a need for better packages that improves the food preservation, prevents microbial growth and prolongs the shelf life. However, packaging plastics made from petroleum sources have been found to disturb the ecosystem of nature. A solution to this problem might be to replace the traditional packaging plastics with active biopolymers.