The Bombay Technologist

Use of Natural Antimicrobial Agents in Food Packaging

Siddhesh Khade

Foods Engineering & Technology Department

Keywords: Naturally Occurring AMs, Antimicrobial Packaging, Antimicrobial Peptides, Chitosan.

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Abstract

Antimicrobial packaging is a novel packaging technology that aims to prolong the shelf-life of food by inhibiting the growth of contaminating microorganisms without significant adverse effects on organoleptic and nutritional properties ^[1]. Interest in natural antimicrobials (AMs) has expanded in recent years in response to consumer demand for greener additives. During the last two decades, these AMs have been investigated for their practical applications. The article reviews the naturally occurring AMs that can be used in food grade packaging, their mechanism of action, and how they can be used in food grade packaging.