Biovalorization of lobster by-product for applications in food safety and packaging

The waste/by-products generated from lobster processing are rich in valuable compounds, one of which is chitin/chitosan. Chitosan is a natural polymer that has wide ranging applications in several fields ranging from agriculture to cosmetics. Specifically, the ability of chitosan to act against pathogenic microbes is of interest in this study. The aim of this project is to use a sustainable and mild extraction approach to obtain chitosan from lobster shell waste. Furthermore, the lobster shell-derived chitosan will be used to develop novel antimicrobial packaging (both edible and non-edible) and assessed on their ability to control microbe related spoilage.

Faculty Supervisor:

Beth Mason

Student:

Avik Khan

Partner:

Saputo

Discipline:

Environmental sciences

Sector:

Forestry

University:

Program: