Active packaging is an emerging food technology to improve the quality and safety of food products.Recent developments in antimicrobial active packaging showed the efficiency of essential oils versus bread and bakery products among other applications. However, one of the main problems to face is the odor and taste they could provide to the packaged food. Using some aromas to mask the odor could be a good approach.
That is why the main objective of this paper is to develop an antimicrobial packaging material based on the combination of the most active compounds of essential oils (hydrocinnamaldehyde, oregano essential oil, cinnamaldehyde, thymol, and carvacrol) together with some aromas commonly used in the food industry. A study of the concentration required to get the antimicrobial properties, the organoleptic compatibility with typical aroma present in many food systems (vanilla, banana, and strawberry), and the right combination of both systems has been carried out. Antimicrobial tests of both the mentioned aromas, the main components of some essential oils, and the combination of both groups were carried out against bacterias (E. faecalis, L.monocytogenes, B.cereus, S.aureus, Salmonella choleraesuis, Y.enterocolitica, E.coli), yeasts (Candida albicans, Debaryomyces hansenii , Zygosaccharomyces rouxii), and molds (Botrytis cinerae , Aspergillus flavus, P.roqueforti, Eurotium repens, P.islandicum, P.commune, P. nalgiovensis).
The sensory properties of the combinations were evaluated with a triangular test and classification was by an order test; the odor threshold of the aroma compounds was also studied.
The results reveal that none of the aromas had antimicrobial properties. The most antimicrobial compounds are thymol, carvacrol, and cinnamaldehyde, but none of them could be combined with banana aroma, whereas only thymol with strawberry aroma gave the right combined organoleptic profile. All of the antimicrobials under study could be combined with vanilla aroma, providing both antimicrobial property and the odor expected.
Fuente: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf901459e
Aporte: Leidy Beltrán
Más mecanismos barrera para evitar la contaminación del producto. En este estudio llama la atención la combinación no sólo de agentes antimicrobianos, sino también la adición de aromas, con el fin de poder enmascarar los fuertes olores producidos por los compuestos antimicrobianos y que este tipo de empaques sea utilizado en una amplia variedad de productos alimenticios.
ResponderBorrar