Antimicrobials-

 
 People have sought ways to preserve freshly harvested
fruit for later use.
 To accomplish long term storage and shipping
 New ways of food preparation have also increased the
need for preservation; for example, the convenience
foods, low-calorie foods, and food substitutes, often
require new and different means of food preservation.
 Chemical additives are needed to provide the diversity
of foods and food products. Examples: Sodium benzoate,
bicarbonate, Sorbic acid, Calcium propionate, Sodium
nitrite and sodium nitrate, [preserve the pleasing red
color of meat, prevent germination and growth of any
botulism endospores.]
 These chemicals are simple organic acids or salts
of organic acids which the body readily metabolizes
 
Types of Antimicrobial:
 Natural-
 indigenous or biologically present
 pepper,garlic, spices
 can be destroyed by interfering factors:
1. heat application
1. pretreatments
1. addition of preservation technology
 Synthetic-
 intentional addition
 
Steps to application of antimicrobials:
1. Determine the characteristic of raw materials
1. pH-
If high pH- bacteria [spoilage, pathogenic]
If low pH- fungi [fermentative, spoilage,
pathogenic]
1. Determine the preservation technology
[dehydration, thermal, fermentation,..]
1. Determine the level of reduction
[99.9%]
1. Determine the possible causes of spoilage
[Deciding for appropriate packaging]
1. Conduct prototype
1. Verify level of reduction
[efficiency-> piloting-> commercialization
 
Role of chemical preservative:
1. Improvement of nutritive value
1. Preservation
1. Addition of color
1. Addition of flavor
1. And improvement of texture
 
Chemical preservatives has been defined as “any chemical that
when added to food tends to prevent or retard deterioration ,
but does not include common salt, sugars, vinegars, spices,
or oils extracted from spices, substances added to food by
direct exposure thereof to wood smoke or chemicals applied
for their respective insecticidal or herbicidal properties.”
 Intentional application for antimicrobial effect
 
Preservatives are used to prevent or retard both chemical and
biological deterioration of foods.
 Antioxidants- Antioxidants used as food preservatives
include vitamin C and the synthetic antioxidants
butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated
hydroxyanisole (BHA). These antioxidants are added to
foods in concentrations of much less than 1 percent.
-prevents free radical damage of pigments, flavors,
lipids, and vitamins.
 Antibrowning compounds- to prevent enzymatic and non-
enzymatic browning.
 Antimicrobials- primary additives used to prevent
biological deterioration.
 
A combination of preservatives to control both chemical and
biological deterioration can further extend the shelf life.
 
 
Process to select proper preservation system:
1. Spoilage problems must be identified first.
1. Possible preservation system must be evaluated via
model studies and studies of food product in question.
 
 
Selection of Antimicrobials:
Factors:
1. Antimicrobial and chemical properties
1. The properties and composition of food product in
question
1. The type of preservation systems, used in the food
product
1. The type characteristic and number of microorganisms
 1. The level of reduction the microorganisms (safety)
1. The cost effectiveness of the antimicrobial
 
 
1. Antimicrobial and Chemical Properties:
 
Antimicrobials can be effective in preserving food either
controlling the overall growth of the microorganisms or
directly destroying all or part of the microorganisms.
Whether bacteriostasis or lethality occurs depends on the
reversibility of the mode of action of the antimicrobial.
 
Mode of Action:
1. Reaction with the cell membrane, causing increased
permeability and loss of cellular constituents.
2. 2. Inactivation of essential enzymes
3. Destruction or functional inactivation of genetic
material
 
Generally an antimicrobial that acts on the membrane in a non
specific fashion has the widest over all spectrum of
activity.
 
Knowledge of the mode of action may also indicate if an
organism has the ability to reverse the antimicrobial
activity via the metabolism of the antimicrobial or by other
mechanism. This will provide some indication of whether the
activity would be overcome in extended storage of a food
product containing antimicrobials.
 May indicate possible reversibility of an antimicrobial
through metabolism of the MO or, other chemical change
that will render the antimicrobial inactive.
 
 Mode of action studies may also indicate if organism
become resistant to an antimicrobial on continued
exposure to the compound
 
Chemical and physical properties of Antimcrobials:
 Polarity of a compound, water solubility,
 Lyophilic properties- allow antimicrobial to react with
the membrane of the MO
 Boiling point
 pH
 chemical reactivity- may produce off-, decreasing
activity of antimicrobial
 
2. Properties and components of food products:
 
May result to:
1. Loss of antimicrobial activity- if antimicrobial
reacts with the food components. Resulting in the binding
of the chemical to food component or breakdown,
alteration of chemical structure of the AM
2. pH- can result to ionization of AM and change in
activity
3. Naturally occurring compounds can also influence the
activity of the antimicrobials.
 
3. Level and type of microorganisms:
 
Since the AM spectra are often different for each
antimicrobial the flora contamination the food product
influences the choice of AM.
CAUTION: not to select an AM solely to control the
predominant organisms present, due to specificity may result
in selecting for and creating a favorable condition for
growth for other MO.
 
 
4. Influence of other preservation method:
 
Can determine the type and number of MO present thus
influencing the type and level of AM
 
Storage conditions of food product
-the ability of AM to inhibit can be overcome during extended
storage.
Depending upon time and temperature of storage these
antimicrobials can be volatilized or directly react with
other food components.
 
Food Irradiation-
o Technology that can be solely used to reduce food losses due to
deterioration and to control contamination causing illness and death
o All these benefits while eliminating the need for the use at many
potentially harmful chemicals
 
Principle
 
1. Radiation Inactivation of Microorganisms
o Damaging the genetic material of the cell.
 Direct collision between the radiation energy and the
genetic material.
 Radiation ionizing an adjacent molecule.
o Affects other cell component.
  
Mechanisms of Microbial Survival and Repair
i. DNA repair
1. Excision mechanism- remove damage from cell
 
Radiation Sensitivity of Microorganisms
 Environmental condition
 Nature of food material
 
2. Radiation Effects on Insects
 Lethality
 Reduced longevity
 Reduction of egg hatch
 Delay in development
 Reduced feeding and locomotion
 Inhibition and respiration
 Sterilization (reproduction)
 
 
3. Sprout control and inhibition
o Due to effects on metabolism of endogenous growth hormones as well
as on nucleic acid
 Maturity of fruit
 Storage temperature
 
Ionizing Radiation
o Produces ions---electrically charged particles
o High energy radiation
 
Three Types of Ionizing Radiation Sources
 
1. Gamma Rays
o Produced by radioactive substances (radioisotopes) that
continuously emit high energy gamma rays.
o Used as sterilizer
 Cobalt 60
 95% of emitted e- is available for use
 Penetrates deeply yields substantial uniformity of
dose in food product
 Decays to non-radioactive nickel
 Needs frequent replacement
 Slow treatment on food
 Cesium 137
 Less penetration
 Longer life
2. E-Beam Generator
o High energy electrons, propelled out of an electron gun- electron
beam linear accelerator
o Turned on only as needed
o Do not require replinishments
o No radioactive waste
o Shallow penetration
o Must be converted to x-rays for larger items.
 o High electric power consumption
o High maintenance
 
3. X-rays
o Caused by atomic transition
o A beam of electrons