Food Packaging
Houshmand Sharafi; Fahimeh Ebrahimi Tirtashi
Abstract
Postbiotics are metabolites derived from probiotics and other beneficial microorganisms that due to containing organic acids, bacteriocins, and bioactive peptides possess antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. In recent years, the use of postbiotics as a functional agent for food packaging systems ...
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Postbiotics are metabolites derived from probiotics and other beneficial microorganisms that due to containing organic acids, bacteriocins, and bioactive peptides possess antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. In recent years, the use of postbiotics as a functional agent for food packaging systems has increased in popularity among researchers. However, although the postbiotics-packaging system has increased gradually, there are some obstacles that challenge it such as the safety and stability of novel beneficial microorganisms like mold as a next generation of postbiotics sources, parameters optimization of preparation and treatments of postbiotics, safety and performance of postbiotic carrier polymer and the sensorial effect of postbiotics on packaged foods. In addition, to ensure the consumption of packaged food with postbiotic-containing polymers, its safety needs to be thoroughly investigated, as research has shown that the postbiotic administration can have negative effects such as gastrointestinal complications, and allergies on the consumer body's health. Finally, for the entry of postbiotics as functional compounds into the food packaging market, the collaboration between academia and industry, clear labeling of packaged food and increasing consumer awareness about postbiotics are essential. Therefore, this study aims to briefly overview of the current status and future directions of postbiotics in food packaging.
Food Safety
Dabir Sharifi; Javad Aliakbarlu; Mohieddin Kazemi
Abstract
In recent years, the negative side effects of extensive use of chemical preservatives have become a major health concern. Therefore, it is necessary to find the safe and natural biological preservatives with health promotion effects. This study aimed to investigate the stimulatory effect of Persian shallot ...
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In recent years, the negative side effects of extensive use of chemical preservatives have become a major health concern. Therefore, it is necessary to find the safe and natural biological preservatives with health promotion effects. This study aimed to investigate the stimulatory effect of Persian shallot extract (PSE) on Lactobacillus acidophilus growth, and evaluate the individual and combined antibacterial effects of PSE, L. acidophilus and sodium nitrite against Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium. The minimum inhibitory concentration values of PSE were 2, 4, and 8 mg/mL against L. monocytogenes, S. Typhimurium, and L. acidophilus, respectively. The results revealed that PSE (0.05 mg/mL) significantly increased (up to 1.3 log10 CFU/mL) L. acidophilus growth compared to control group. The treatments of L. acidophilus and PSE as well as the treatment of L. acidophilus with sodium nitrite and PSE prevent the growth of L. monocytogenes completely. Also, the combined treatment of L. acidophilus and PSE showed the greatest antibacterial effect against S. Typhimurium, and caused 4.27 log10 CFU/mL reduction compared to control treatment. However, the combined treatment of L. acidophilus, PSE and sodium nitrite caused only 0.92 log10 CFU/mL reduction in S. Typhimurium count. It can be concluded that PSE not only could increase the growth of L. acidophilus but also had strong antibacterial properties, and combined use of PSE, L. acidophilus, and sodium nitrite showed significant anti-listeria activity.
Food Safety
Soghra Valizadeh; Farzad Katiraee; Hamed Behniafar
Abstract
Plant-derived compounds possess robust antioxidant capabilities and exhibit notable antimicrobial activities against diverse pathogens. This study investigated the antioxidant activities of methanolic and aqueous extracts of Satureja hortensis (S. hortensis) and Cinnamomum zeylanicum (C. zeylanicum). ...
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Plant-derived compounds possess robust antioxidant capabilities and exhibit notable antimicrobial activities against diverse pathogens. This study investigated the antioxidant activities of methanolic and aqueous extracts of Satureja hortensis (S. hortensis) and Cinnamomum zeylanicum (C. zeylanicum). The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the extracts were also evaluated. The antifungal activity of methanolic extract of S. hortensis (MIC 1.25 mg/mL) was higher than that of the aqueous extract (MIC 5 mg/mL) on P. chrysogenum. For Candida species, especially C. albicans, MIC and MFC of methanolic extract were lower (MIC 0.31 mg/mL, MFC 1.25 mg/mL) than aqueous extract. The methanolic extract of C. zeylanicum exhibited a MIC of 0.31 mg/mL and MFC of 0.62 mg/mL against P. chrysogenum, outperforming the aqueous extract (MIC 0.62 mg/mL, MFC 1.25 mg/mL). Similarly, methanolic extracts showed markedly lower MIC values than the aqueous extracts against Candida species. In antioxidant activity of methanolic and aqueous extracts of both plants, ABTS values were consistently higher than DPPH results, likely due to ABTS's broader sensitivity to hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidants. In the DPPH assay, the methanolic extract of C. zeylanicum exhibited the highest antioxidant activity with a scavenging percentage of 89.16 ± 0.6%. In the ABTS method, the methanolic extract of C. zeylanicum exhibited highest antioxidant activity, with a scavenging percentage of 97.8 ± 0.1%. The results of this study indicate that S. hortensis and C. zeylanicum extracts are promising natural antifungals and antioxidants.
Food Packaging
Negar Nikfarjam; Roghayieh Razavi; Mehran Moradi; Rahim Molaei
Abstract
Despite the relatively short history of the discovery of carbon dots (C-dots) and the development of their applications, methods for producing nanodots based on green chemistry have consistently attracted the attention of scientists. In this study, green C-dots were synthesized from onion juice using ...
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Despite the relatively short history of the discovery of carbon dots (C-dots) and the development of their applications, methods for producing nanodots based on green chemistry have consistently attracted the attention of scientists. In this study, green C-dots were synthesized from onion juice using a simple hydrothermal method (200°C, 4 hours), and their optical properties, particle size distribution, and morphology were subsequently evaluated. The antibacterial activity of C-dots was assessed against pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Listeria monocytogenes (Gram-positive), with minimum inhibitory concentrations of 8 mg mL-1 and 4 mg mL-1, respectively. Furthermore, the synthesized C-dots were incorporated into nanocellulose using an ex-situ method to produce modified bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) films with both antimicrobial and ultraviolet (UV) protective properties. The carbon dot-embedded nanocellulose demonstrated enhanced UV-blocking capabilities and greater inhibitory activity against Gram-positive bacteria compared to Gram-negative bacteria, highlighting its potential as a promising nano-biomaterial for food packaging applications.
Food Safety
Mahdieh Iranmanesh; Naheed Mojgani
Abstract
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have a long history of safe use in humans and are recognized as GRAS (Generally recognized as safe). Besides lactic and acetic acid which produced by LAB, other inhibitory substances are also produced among which bacteriocins are of high significance owing to their natural ...
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Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have a long history of safe use in humans and are recognized as GRAS (Generally recognized as safe). Besides lactic and acetic acid which produced by LAB, other inhibitory substances are also produced among which bacteriocins are of high significance owing to their natural and nontoxic nature. Bacteriocins are the ribosomally synthesized antimicrobial protein metabolites produced by a wide variety of microorganisms. The bacteriocin producing attributes of a number of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been exploited in the potential application in food, agriculture and biopharma industry. In last few decades, the significance of LAB bacteriocins in food industry has attracted the attention of researchers, food manufactures and consumers who are looking for safe and natural products with no toxic properties and less side effects. The potential of LAB bacteriocin as natural and safe alternative are essentials not only due to their spectrum of inhibitory actions aimed towards industrially important spoilage microorganism, but also due to their role in enhancing the texture, quality and safety of the food products. More recently, the synergistic effect of bacteriocins in the presence of other preservation factors used in food preservation has highlighted their significance in hurdle technology. This technology has potential application in bakery, dairy and meat products. In this review we would discuss the role of LAB and their bacteriocin as bio-preservative in food industry and their role in presence and in combination with other hurdles.
Food Safety
Shagayegh Moradi; Leila Manafi; Zohre Ahmadi; Maryam Imani; Razzagh Mahmoudi
Abstract
Food additives, such as sweeteners and food colorants, play an important role in the food supply. But despite their widespread use in food, there are always concerns about their side effects on consumer health, and their excessive use can lead to adverse effects. This study aims to provide a brief overview ...
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Food additives, such as sweeteners and food colorants, play an important role in the food supply. But despite their widespread use in food, there are always concerns about their side effects on consumer health, and their excessive use can lead to adverse effects. This study aims to provide a brief overview of the beneficial and harmful effects of some sweeteners and food colorants on human health. For this purpose, studies conducted on these food additives from 2001 to 2025 were reviewed. Related articles were collected by using the keywords "food additives, sweeteners, colorants, and health effects." From scientific databases such as Pubmed, Science Direct, Elsevier, SID, etc. The results of studies have shown that artificial sweeteners and colorants, despite their widespread use in industry, can compromise food safety and lead to side effects such as gastrointestinal disorders, allergies, and even cancer in consumers. On the other hand, with the increase in consumer awareness, the demand for natural additives has increased. Therefore, dyes and artificial sweeteners should be limited, and their natural types should be used instead.
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