Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Silk protein can extend shelf life and improve food security

  • Down to Business
  • Published:

From Nature Reviews Bioengineering

View current issue Sign up to alerts

Silk protein can be applied as an edible food coating to extend the shelf life of food products by slowing dehydration and reducing oxidative stresses. Here, we highlight the commercialization of Mori Silk, from lab discovery and first proof of concept to manufacturing, scale-up, field validation, regulatory approval and forward-looking challenges.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Mori Silk edible food coating.

References

  1. Poore, J. & Nemecek, T. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science 360, 987–992 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. US Environmental Protection Agency. 2019 Wasted Food Report https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-03/2019%20Wasted%20Food%20Report_508_opt_ec.pdf (2023).

  3. FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP & WHO. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022: Repurposing food and agricultural policies to make healthy diets more affordable https://doi.org/10.4060/cc0639en (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, 2022).

  4. UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021. UNEP - UN Environment Programme http://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-waste-index-report-2021 (2021).

  5. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Global Food Losses and Food Waste https://www.fao.org/3/i2697e/i2697e.pdf (2011).

  6. Jin, H.-J. & Kaplan, D. L. Mechanism of silk processing in insects and spiders. Nature 424, 1057–1061 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Zhou, Z. et al. Engineering the future of silk materials through advanced manufacturing. Adv. Mater. 30, 1706983–1706983 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Sun, H. & Marelli, B. Large-scale, proteinaceous nanotube arrays with programmable hydrophobicity, oleophilicity, and gas permeability. Nano Lett. 23, 3451–3458 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Han, Y. et al. Design of biodegradable, climate-specific packaging materials that sense food spoilage and extend shelf life. ACS Nano https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c12747 (2023).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Yigit, S. et al. Toxicological assessment and food allergy of silk fibroin derived from Bombyx mori cocoons. Food Chem. Toxicol. 151, 112117–112117 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Sun, H., Cao, Y., Kim, D. & Marelli, B. Biomaterials technology for agrofood resilience. Adv. Funct. Mater. 32, 2201930–2201930 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Marelli, B. Biomaterials for boosting food security. Science 376, 146–147 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Rockwood, D. N. et al. Materials fabrication from Bombyx mori silk fibroin. Nat. Protoc. 6, 1612–1631 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Benedetto Marelli

  2. Cambridge Crops (Mori), Boston, MA, USA

    Adam Behrens

Authors
  1. Benedetto Marelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Adam Behrens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

B.M. and A.B. discussed and prepared the article and the figure together, and read and approved the final version of the text.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benedetto Marelli.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

B.M. and A.B. are co-founders of the company Cambridge Crops (now called Mori), which uses SF as an edible coating. The manufacture and use of SF as an edible coating is protected by a portfolio of intellectual property, on some of which B.M. and A.B. are listed as inventors.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Marelli, B., Behrens, A. Silk protein can extend shelf life and improve food security. Nat Rev Bioeng 1, 788–790 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-023-00107-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-023-00107-8

  • Springer Nature Limited

Search

Navigation