Biological Preservatives and Their Application for Food Preservation

A growing awareness among consumers towards the health aspects has increased their interest on natural products.As an alternative to certain disadvantages associated with chemical preservatives,industries are paying more emphasis on the use of natural preservatives.Utilization of natural preservatives has rendered foods with high nutritional value,free from chemical preservatives and adequate microbiological safety.Natural preservatives are the chemical agents derived from plants,animals,microbes and their metabolites that prevent the decomposition of products by any means.The mode of action of these natural preservatives is inhibition of microbial growth,oxidation and certain enzymatic reactions occurring in the foodstuffs.This review focuses on variouses naturally derived constituents,their mechanisms of antimicrobial action,and the application research status in food preservation.The application result in food hurdle technology is introduced.The future application prospect of natural biological preservative and the main problems to be solved in the research and development are outlooked in food systems.