The microbial cross-contamination caused by the meltwater is a serious food safety concern in the food supply chain. A new type of food coolant materials – “jelly ice cubes” (JICs) based on gelatin hydrogels were designed and tested to diminish the meltwater from traditional ice while inheriting the ice’s high cooling efficiency. The zero-plastic JICs are free of meltwater-caused cross-contamination and have high affordability, recyclability, sustainability and biodegradability. In this paper, JICs based on 10% gelatin hydrogels achieved high latent heat of fusion and cooling efficiency comparable with the traditional ice. The variations in water content, latent heat of fusion, the mechanical strength of JICs were studied in up to five freeze-thaw cycles. After each freeze-thaw cycle, the JICs can be effectively rehydrated and cleaned with brief water or diluted bleach rinse. The loss of water content in various conditions and the stability of the protein matrix structures in the water-rich environment were analyzed. The feasibility of applying JICs based on 10% gelatin hydrogels was proved with future development proposed.

Sustainable, reusable and biodegradable hydrogel "jelly ice cubes" as food cooling media

ACS Fall 2021

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