Acetate cellulose film with bacteriophages for potential antimicrobial use in food packaging

The search for new technologies that guarantee the safety and quality of food has intensified, as has concern for consumer health, leading to the adoption of measures to reduce food-related risks. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficiency of active biodegradable films incorporated with bacteriophage for future application in packaging materials. Cellulose acetate films incorporated with solution of bacteriophages showed antimicrobial activity against Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 displayed the formation of inhibition zones in Muller-Hinton agar, and a growth curve, using the diffusion method in liquid medium. There was an increase in the lag phase and slower growth of microorganisms in the environment containing bacteriophages with the films, compared to control. The mechanical and physical properties of films, such as thickness, elongation and puncture resistance showed no significant effects. However, tensile resistance was different between control and treatments. The addition of bacteriophage altered the film surface, as observed by atomic force microscopy. There was a higher porosity of the films containing the bacteriophage solution compared to control. The acetate films may be incorporated with bacteriophages, since the physical and mechanical properties of the films were not changed drastically and there was an effect of the antimicrobial film. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.