Abstract
Consumer demand for food of high quality has driven research for alternative methods of food preservation on the one hand, and the development of new and rapid quality assessment techniques on the other hand. Recently, there has been a growing need and interest in healthier food products, which has led to an increased interest in natural preservatives, such as essential oils, plant extracts, and edible films and coatings. Several studies have shown the potential of using biopreservation, natural antimicrobials, and antioxidant agents in place of other processing and preservation techniques (e.g., thermal and non-thermal treatments, freezing, or synthetic chemicals). Changes in food quality induced by the application of natural preservatives have been commonly evaluated using a range of traditional methods, including microbiology, sensory, and physicochemical measurements. Several spectroscopic techniques have been proposed as promising alternatives to the traditional time-consuming and destructive methods. This review will provide an overview of recent studies and highlight the potential of spectroscopic techniques to evaluate quality changes in food products following the application of natural preservatives.
Highlights
Most food products are naturally perishable and require the application of one or more preservation and/or processing techniques to maintain their quality and extend their shelf-life
Similar antioxidant properties were observed with grape pomace flour [145], chlorogenic acid [166], and gelatin-polycaprolactone composite films combined with lysozyme and pomegranate plant extracts (PE) [136]
The UV-Vis spectroscopy is based on the measurement of the absorbance of the sample in the region of the UV (250–400 nm) or visible (400–780 nm) spectrum, and reflects the energy absorbed for electronic transitions [7]
Summary
Most food products are naturally perishable and require the application of one or more preservation and/or processing techniques to maintain their quality and extend their shelf-life. Quality changes in foods, caused by the application of the aforementioned natural preservatives, have been traditionally evaluated by sensory and microbiological analysis, as well as a variety of physicochemical measurements Most of these methods give reliable results, they are mostly destructive and time-consuming, and cannot be applied at an industrial scale for online assessment. This review paper will cover both the recent advances and applications related to plant-, animal- and microbial-derived preservative compounds, and the analytical methods used to assess the quality changes in food following the application of these natural preservatives.
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