Natural Antimicrobials for Food Biopreservation

Abstract

Natural antimicrobial agents are required to ensure that manufactured foods remain safe and unspoiled. This paper will focus on the definition, types, mechanisms of action and factors that affect the activity and application potential of food-natural antimicrobials for food processing. Naturally occurring antimicrobial compounds derived from animal, plant and microbial sources have potential for use alone, as adjuncts to traditional, regulatory-approved antimicrobial preservatives, or in combination with other food preservation processes. Among the many natural antimicrobials discussed in this paper, only a few have been tested or applied to foods. Some examples include the antibiotic natamycin, the bacteriocin nisin, lactoferrin, hydrogen peroxide, polysaccharides as chitosan and enzymes as egg-white lysozyme. This review will focus on the effects and efficacy of the different compounds in real foods and food-system models, the mechanisms of action against micro-organisms, the interactions with food components and other preservative systems, as well as their influence on food quality, toxicology and safety. © CAB International 2010 (Online ISSN 1749-8848).