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Throughout history, spices have been employed for their pharmaceutical attributes and as a culinary enhancement. The food industry widely employs artificial preservatives to retard the deterioration induced by microbial proliferation, enzymatic processes, and oxidative reactions. Nevertheless, the utilization of these synthetic preservatives in food products has given rise to significant apprehension among consumers, primarily stemming from the potential health risks that they pose. These risks encompass a spectrum of adverse effects, including but not limited to gastrointestinal disorders, the disruption of gut microbiota, allergic reactions, respiratory complications, and concerns regarding their carcinogenic properties. Consequently, consumers are displaying an increasing reluctance to purchase preserved food items that contain such additives. Spices, known for their antimicrobial value, are investigated for their potential as food preservatives. The review assesses 25 spice types for their inherent antimicrobial properties and their applicability in inhibiting various foodborne microorganisms and suggests further future investigations regarding their use as possible natural food preservatives that could offer safer, more sustainable methods for extending shelf life. Future research should delve deeper into the use of natural antimicrobials, such as spices, to not only replace synthetic preservatives but also optimize their application in food safety and shelf-life extension. Moreover, there is a need for continuous innovation in encapsulation technologies for antimicrobial agents. Developing cost-effective and efficient methods, along with scaling up production processes, will be crucial to competing with traditional antimicrobial options in terms of both efficacy and affordability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout history, spices have been employed for their pharmaceutical attributes and as a culinary enhancement. The food industry widely employs artificial preservatives to retard the deterioration induced by microbial proliferation, enzymatic processes, and oxidative reactions. Nevertheless, the utilization of these synthetic preservatives in food products has given rise to significant apprehension among consumers, primarily stemming from the potential health risks that they pose. These risks encompass a spectrum of adverse effects, including but not limited to gastrointestinal disorders, the disruption of gut microbiota, allergic reactions, respiratory complications, and concerns regarding their carcinogenic properties. Consequently, consumers are displaying an increasing reluctance to purchase preserved food items that contain such additives. Spices, known for their antimicrobial value, are investigated for their potential as food preservatives. The review assesses 25 spice types for their inherent antimicrobial properties and their applicability in inhibiting various foodborne microorganisms and suggests further future investigations regarding their use as possible natural food preservatives that could offer safer, more sustainable methods for extending shelf life. Future research should delve deeper into the use of natural antimicrobials, such as spices, to not only replace synthetic preservatives but also optimize their application in food safety and shelf-life extension. Moreover, there is a need for continuous innovation in encapsulation technologies for antimicrobial agents. Developing cost-effective and efficient methods, along with scaling up production processes, will be crucial to competing with traditional antimicrobial options in terms of both efficacy and affordability.

In this study, fractional compound composition, antioxidant capacity, and phenolic substance content of 14 plant essential oils—anise ( Pimpinella anisum ), bay leaves ( Laurus nobilis ), cinnamon bark ( Cinnamomum verum ), clove ( Eugenia caryophyllata ), fennel ( Foeniculum vulgare ), hop ( Humulus lupulus ), Istanbul oregano ( Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum ), Izmir oregano ( Origanum onites ), mint ( Mentha piperita ), myrtus ( Myrtus communis ), orange peel ( Citrus sinensis ), sage (S alvia officinalis ), thyme ( Thymbra spicata ), and Turkish oregano ( Origanum minutiflorum )—were related to inhibition of 10 bacteria through multiple linear or non-linear (M(N)LR) models—four Gram-positive bacteria of Listeria innocua , coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus , and Bacillus subtilis , and six Gram-negative bacteria of Yersinia enterocolitica , Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, Proteus mirabilis , Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Klebsiella oxytoca . A total of 65 compounds with different antioxidant capacity, phenolic substance content and antibacterial properties were detected with 14 plant essential oils. The best-fit M(N)LR models indicated that relative to anise essential oil, the essential oils of oreganos, cinnamon, and thyme had consistently high inhibitory effects, while orange peel essential oil had consistently a low inhibitory effect. Regression analysis indicated that beta-bisabolene (Turkish and Istanbul oreganos), and terpinolene (thyme) were found to be the most inhibitory compounds regardless of the bacteria type tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smoking technology is increasingly used nowadays to impart particular organoleptic characteristics to fishes and as a means of maintaining and extending the shelf-life of these perishable products. The antimicrobial and antioxidant effects of smoking have been recently studied in depth, and various methods of smoking are applied worldwide, focusing mainly on species groups such as salmon and other salted fish and seafood. Despite the obvious advantages of the process, there are also a number of hazards related to the consumption of smoked products. One of the most representative examples is the outbreak of various cancers common in countries such as Nigeria and Baltic countries due to the high content of foods in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons produced as a by-product of the process. Furthermore, many studies have demonstrated that smoking with pyrolytic flue gases causes environmental pollution. These facts can have a significant impact on the acceptance of these products by consumers. In this review article, the objective is to describe synoptically the general methods of fish smoking, to report both advantages and disadvantages resulting from these methods, to present safety aspects of smoking both with regard to microbiological and chemical issues and to provide some representative examples of smoked fish applications both in tabular and figural form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbohydrate fatty acid esters (CFAs) are increasingly used to improve food quality and safety but may have limited applications due to their low aqueous solubility. The use of hydrophilic maltodextrin for the synthesis of CFAs results in compounds with high aqueous solubility, but knowledge of their microbial inhibitory properties is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the microbial inhibitory properties of maltodextrin fatty acid esters (MFAs) compared to commercial sucrose laurate (SL). Six different MFAs were synthesized from 2 different maltodextrins and 3 different vinyl fatty acids. Maltodextrin with a lower dextrose equivalent esterified with laurate had the highest inhibitory activity and a broader microbial inhibitory spectrum than SL, indicating a potential application in foods. Microbes susceptible to SL and MFAs showed morphological deformations observed by scanning electron microscopy and extracellular proteins released from cells, indicating compromised cell membranes. • Maltodextrin fatty acid esters (MFAs) can be synthesized enzymatically by lipases. • MFAs have microbial inhibitory properties against food-related microorganisms. • MFAs lead to cellular morphological deformation in susceptible microorganisms. • MFAs are a potential food ingredient alternative to commercial sucrose laurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]