Chapter 12 - Nanotechnology in Microbial Food Safety

Abstract

Research and development on food nanotechnology applications is rapidly growing, and it is becoming an increasingly important field worldwide. Many of the recent innovations in the global food and beverage industry are related to nanotechnology and have already been successfully utilized on a commercial scale in food processing, production, and packaging including automation. From a microbiological perspective, nanotechnology-based approaches can be applied to enhance the food quality and safety and such applications include but are not limited to the use of nanopackaging materials that improve product storage stability. Nanocomponents with antimicrobial properties that inhibit the growth of pathogenic microbes and activities of spoilage and the detection of food-borne pathogens, such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes using nanosensors and nanomaterial-based assays have been developed. This chapter focuses on the recent advances and future trends in nanotechnology with special reference to microbiological applications in enhancing food quality and safety. Although nanotechnology may hold great promise to improve the quality and microbial safety of foods, there are concerns related to the potential uncertainty of toxicological effects, health risks, and environmental impact of such applications.