Antimicrobial food packaging in meat industry

Antimicrobial packaging, an active packaging concept, can be considered an extremely challenging technology that could have a significant impact on shelf-life extension and food safety of meat and meat products. Use of antimicrobial substances can control the microbial population and target specific microorganisms to provide higher safety and quality products. Many classes of antimicrobial compounds have been evaluated in film structures, both synthetic polymers and edible films: organic acids and their salts, enzymes, bacteriocins, and miscellaneous compounds such as triclosan, silver zeolites, and fungicides. The characteristics of some antimicrobial packaging systems are reviewed in this article. The regulatory status of antimicrobial packaging in EU is also examined. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.