OVERVIEW OF APPLICATIONS OF RADIATION PROCESSING IN COMBINATION WITH CONVENTIONAL TREATMENTS TO ASSURE FOOD SAFETY

摘要

Natural antimicrobials (NA) were tested for their efficiency at increasing bacterial relative radiosensitivity (BRR) and, therefore, reducing the radiation dose necessary to eliminate pathogens in meat and vegetables. In order to evaluate the industrial feasibility of using NA in combination to radiation to increase food shelf life, NA were added to food at low concentrations (which do not affect the sensory properties). Then, a bioactive coating formulation was developed to allow retention of the bioactivity of the NA during storage time. Results showed that NA, can increase BRR from 2 to 4 times and lower the dose necessary to eliminate a pathogen by a factor of 3 to 4.