Antimicrobial Packaging with Biopolymers May Solve Food Safety Issues
Recently, recalls and outbreaks of cantaloupe, tomato, shell egg, and ground meat due to foodborne pathogen contamination have highlighted the need for effective decontamination methods to ensure the safety of foods. Foodborne illness poses a $77+ billion economic burden in the United States annually. As an additional hurdle to non-thermal processes, antimicrobial packaging can play an important role in reducing the risk of pathogen contamination, as well as in extending the shelf life of minimally processed foods. Currently, food applications of antimicrobial packaging systems are limited due to the availability of suitable antimicrobials, new polymer materials, regulatory concerns, and appropriate testing methods. Thanks to concerns about the environment and sustainability, it is critical to design packaging products that utilize renewable resources while providing consumers a better package for protecting and dispensing the foods they buy.
Session 096 Development of Antimicrobial Packaging with Biopolymers to Solve Food Safety Issues will take place on Wednesday morning from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. in Room N115. The symposium will focus on the development and application of biopolymers in antimicrobial packaging that can be used for reducing or inhibiting foodborne pathogens. The speakers will address current problems and challenges; discuss the different approaches to development of antimicrobial packaging systems with biopolymers; present the physical, mechanical, and antimicrobial properties of packaging materials; demonstrate their applications in various foods; and propose future research directions and collaborations in this research area.
