PepsiCo Is Researching Ways To Convert Cellulose Fiber Waste To Packaging

PepsiCo Inc. Chief Scientific Officer Mehmood Khan told an audience at the recent Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit that the company hopes to find a way to economize by converting cellulose fiber from food production waste, including oat husks and orange peels, to packaging materials. The research effort is ongoing in the Frito-Lay snacks, Quaker oatmeal and Tropicana orange juice units, he said. Competitor Coca-Cola Co. is already using plant-derived materials to make plastic bottles. "If you could take cellulose today and convert that cellulose to packaging, think of the impact that you would have on the costs of other commodities," Khan said.