Meat Science 62 (2002) 373380

www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci

Antimicrobial food packaging in meat industry

Stefania Quintavalla*, Loredana Vicini
Experimental Station for the Food Preserving Industry, V.le Tanara, 31/A, 43100 Parma, Italy

Received 20 March 2002; received in revised form 4 May 2002; accepted 14 May 2002

Abstract
Antimicrobial packaging, an active packaging concept, can be considered an extremely challenging technology that could have a
signicant impact on shelf-life extension and food safety of meat and meat products. Use of antimicrobial substances can control
the microbial population and target specic microorganisms to provide higher safety and quality products. Many classes of anti-
microbial compounds have been evaluated in lm structures, both synthetic polymers and edible lms: 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. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Active packaging; Antimicrobial substances; Meat; Meat products; Pathogens

1. Introduction Unfortunately, some of these techniques cannot be

applied to some food products, such as fresh meats and
Active packaging is one of the innovative food ready-to-eat products.
packaging concepts that have been introduced as a Antimicrobial packaging is a promising form of active
response to the continuous changes in current consumer food packaging, in particular for meat products. Since
demands and market trends. It has been dened as a microbial contamination of these foods occurs primarily
type of packaging that changes the condition of the at the surface, due to post-processing handling,
packaging to extend shelf-life or improve safety or sen- attempts have been made to improve safety and to delay
sory properties while maintaining the quality of the spoilage by use of antibacterial sprays or dips. However,
food. This denition of active packaging was chosen direct surface application of antibacterial substances
for the European FAIR-project CT 98-4170 (Vermei- onto foods have limited benets because the active sub-
ren, Devlieghere, van Beest, de Kruijf, & Debevere, stances are neutralized on contact or diuse rapidly
1999). from the surface into the food mass. On the other hand,
In general, active food packaging can provide several incorporation of bactericidal or bacteriostatic agents
functions that do not exist in conventional packaging into meat formulations may result in partial inactiva-
systems. The active functions may include scavenging of tion of the active substances by product constituents
oxygen, moisture or ethylene, emission of ethanol and and is therefore expected to have only limited eect on
avours, and antimicrobial activity. the surface microora.
Microbial contamination reduces the shelf-life of Therefore, the use of packaging lms containing anti-
foods and increases the risk of foodborne illness. Tra- microbial agents could be more ecient, by slow
ditional methods of preserving foods from the eect of migration of the agents from the packaging material to
microbial growth include thermal processing, drying, the surface of the product, thus helping maintain high
freezing, refrigeration, irradiation, modied atmosphere concentrations where they are needed. If an anti-
packaging, and adding antimicrobial agents or salts. microbial can be released from the package during an
extended period, the activity can also be extended into
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +39-0521-795265; fax: +39-0521-
the transport and storage phase of food distribution.
771829. Antimicrobial substances incorporated into packa-
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Quintavalla). ging materials can control microbial contamination by
0309-1740/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S0309-1740(02)00121-3
374 S. Quintavalla, L. Vicini / Meat Science 62 (2002) 373380

reducing the growth rate and maximum growth popu- these systems, as it can migrate through the headspace
lation and/or extending the lag-phase of the target and air gaps between the package and the food.
microorganism, or by inactivating microorganisms by Besides diusion and equilibrated sorption, some
contact. antimicrobial packaging uses covalently immobilized
antibiotics or fungicides, or active moieties such as
amine groups. This case utilizes surface inhibition of
2. Developing the antimicrobial packaging systems microbial growth by immobilization of the non-food-
grade antimicrobial substance without diusional mass
Most food packaging systems represent either a transfer.
package/food system or a package/headspace/food sys- Fig. 2 shows the mass transfer phenomena of an
tem (Fig. 1). active substance incorporated into a lm or coating,
A package/food system is a solid food product in with dierent applications.
contact with the packaging material, or a low-viscosity The incorporation of an antimicrobial substance into
or liquid food without headspace. Individually wrapped a food packaging system can take several approaches.
ready-to-eat meat products, sous-vide cooked prod- One is to put the antimicrobial into the lm by adding it
ucts and deli products are good examples. Diusion in the extruder when the lm or the co-extruded lm is
between the packaging material and the food and par- produced. The disadvantage of doing so is poor cost
titioning at the interface are the main migration phe- eectiveness since antimicrobial material not exposed
nomena involved in this system. Antimicrobial agents to the surface of the lm is generally not totally avail-
may be incorporated into the packaging materials initi- able to antimicrobial activity. An alternative to extrusion
ally and migrate into the food through diusion and is to apply the antimicrobial additive in a controlled
partitioning (Han, 2000). matter where the material is needed and not lost; for
Package/headspace/food systems are represented by example, it can be incorporated into the food-contact
foods packed in exible packages, cups, and cartons. layer (usually also serving as the inner heat-seal layer) of
Evaporation or equilibrated distribution of a substance a multilayer packaging material.
among the headspace, packaging material and/or food According to Han (2000), several factors must be
has to be considered as a part of main migration taken into account in the design or modelling of the
mechanisms to estimate the interfacial distribution of antimicrobial lm or package:
the substance. A volatile active substance can be used in
Chemical nature of lms/coatings, casting process con-
ditions and residual antimicrobial activity. The choice
of the antimicrobial is often limited by the heat labi-
lity of the component during extrusion or by the
incompatibility of the component with the packaging
material. For example, 1% potassium sorbate in a
LDPE lm inhibited the growth of yeast on agar
plates. The LDPE resin and potassium sorbate pow-
der can be mixed, extruded and pelletized to produce
a master batch. These pellets can be added to LDPE
resin. The master batch should be produced at low
temperature to prevent heat decomposition of the
potassium sorbate (Han & Floros, 1997). Another
study (Weng & Hotchkiss, 1993), however, found the
relatively polar sorbate, benzoate and propionate to
be incompatible with the apolar LDPE. Acid anhy-
drides were thought to be more compatible than free
acids and their salts because of their lower polarity.
The residual antimicrobial activity is the eective
activity of the antimicrobial agents utilized after the
casting (extrusion) and converting processes (lamina-
tion, printing, drying). The eects of adhesives and
solvents should also be characterized quantitatively.
Characteristics of antimicrobial substances and foods.
Food components signicantly aect the eectiveness
Fig. 1. Food packaging systems and relative behaviour of active sub- of the antimicrobial substances and their release.
stances (Han, 2000). Physico-chemical characteristics of food could alter the
 S. Quintavalla, L. Vicini / Meat Science 62 (2002) 373380 375

Fig. 2. Migration of active substance in dierent applications of antimicrobial packaging systems (Han, 2000).

activity of antimicrobial substances. For example, package into the food. A multilayer design has the
the pH of food inuences the ionisation (dissocia- advantage that the antimicrobial can be added in one
tion/association) of most active chemicals, and could thin-layer and its migration and release controlled by
change the antimicrobial activity of organic acids the thickness of the lm layer or coating. In practice,
and their salts. The antimicrobial activity and che- a matrix of several layers are used to control the rate
mical stability of incorporated active substances of release of the active substance. Control of the
could be inuenced also by the water activity of release rates and migration amounts of antimicrobial
food. Moreover, each food has its own characteristic substances from food packaging is very important. A
microora. The release kinetics of antimicrobial mass transfer model of the migration phenomena can
agents has to be designed to maintain the con- be used to describe the concentration prole in the
centration above the critical inhibitory concentration lm/coating layer and food over time. Han (2000)
with respect to the contaminating microorganisms summarized traditional mass transfer models and his
that are likely to be present. own proposed models that may be used to describe
Storage temperature. Storage temperature can aect the migration of active agents through food packa-
the antimicrobial activity of chemical preservatives. ging systems consisting of single, double, or triple
Generally, increased storage temperature can accel- layers. By using mass transfer models it is possible to
erate the migration of the active agents in the lm/ calculate the storage periods that maintain the active
coating layers, while refrigeration slows down the agent concentration above the critical eectiveness
migration rate. The temperature conditions during concentration, so safety shelf-life of the food could be
production and distribution have to be predicted to calculated.
determine their eect on the residual antimicrobial Physical properties of packaging materials. When
activity of the active compounds. antimicrobial activity is added to packaging materials
Mass transfer coecients. The simplest system is to reduce microbial growth, it may aect the general
the diusional release of active substances from the physical properties of the packaging materials. Han
376 S. Quintavalla, L. Vicini / Meat Science 62 (2002) 373380

and Floros (1997) found that the transparency of the solution from the food enters the exposed cavities of the
plastic lm under study decreased with the addition porous structure (Ishitani, 1995). Less than 0.001% of
of the active agent. The performance of the packaging the silver is in the coating itself. On 9 June 2000 the
materials must be maintained after the addition of the AgIONTM Silver Ion Technology received the approval
active substances, even though the materials contain of the Food and Drug Administration for use in all
more heterogeneous formulations. types of food-contact polymers in USA market (http://
www.cfsan.fda.gov/
dms/opa-fcn.html).
Several other compounds have been proposed and
3. Examples of antimicrobial packaging concepts tested for antimicrobial activity in food packaging
including organic acids such as sorbate, propionate and
As previously mentioned, approaches to antimicrobial benzoate or their respective acid anhydrides (Table 1),
packaging can be classied as either of two types. The bacteriocins e.g. nisin and pediocin or enzymes such as
rst consists of binding an agent to the surface of the lysozyme (Table 2), and fungicides such as benomyl
package and this would require a molecular structure (Halek & Garg, 1989) and imazalil (Weng & Hotchkiss,
large enough to retain activity on the microbial cell wall 1992).
even though bound to the plastic. Such agents are likely An interesting commercial development is the recent
to be limited to enzymes or other antimicrobial proteins. marketing of food-contact approved Microban1
The second approach involves the release of active (Microban Products Co., USA) wide range of prod-
agents onto the surface of the food. ucts such as cutting boards and dishcloths, which
Non-edible packaging systems may contain any type contain triclosan (2,4,40 -trichloro-20 -hydroxydiphenyl-
of food grade additives in their packaging materials. ether, also used in soaps, shampoos, and toothbrushes).
Some chemical agents naturally exist in plants or fer- Cutter (1999) investigated the eectiveness of triclosan-
mented products. However, they mainly are chemically incorporated plastic (TIP) against populations of food-
synthetized and categorized as chemical additives borne pathogenic bacteria as well as bacteria associated
sometimes with restricted regulations required. with meat surface. Plate overlay assays indicated that
In Japan, silver-substituted zeolite has been developed plastic containing 1500 ppm of triclosan inhibited the
as the most common antimicrobial agent incorporated growth of Brochotrix thermosphacta ATCC 11509, Sal-
into plastics. Silver-ions, which inhibit a wide range of monella Typhimurium ATCC 14028, Staphylococcus
metabolic enzymes, have strong antimicrobial activity aureus ATCC 12598, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051, Shi-
with a broad spectrum. The zeolite, which has some of gella exneri ATCC 12022, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922
its surface atoms replaced by silver, is laminated as a and several strains of Escherichia coli O157:H7. However,
thin layer (36 mm) in the surface of the food contact the same lm did not eectively reduce bacterial popula-
polymer and appears to release silver ions as aqueous tions on refrigerated, vacuum-packaged meat surfaces.

Table 1
Applications of antimicrobial food packaging. Incorporation of organic acids and their salts in plastic or edible lms

Antimicrobial agent Packaging materiala Substrate Reference

Acetic acid Chitosan Water Ouattara et al. (2000a)

Chitosan Bologna, cooked ham, pastrami Ouattara et al. (2000b)
Benzoic acid PE-co-MA Culture media Weng and Chen (1997)
Benzoic anhydride LDPE Culture media Weng and Hotchkiss (1993)
Sodium benzoate MC/chitosan Culture media Chen, Yeh, and Chiang (1996)
p-aminobenzoic acid WPI Culture media Cagri, Ustunol, and Ryser (2001)
Lactic acid Alginate Lean beef muscle Siragusa and Dickinson (1992)
Lauric acid Corn zein lm Culture media Padgett, Han, and Dawson (2000)
Corn zein lm Culture media Homan, Han, and Dawson (2001)
Propionic acid Chitosan Water Ouattara et al. (2000a)
Chitosan Bologna, cooked ham, pastrami Ouattara et al. (2000b)
Sorbic acid WPI Culture media Cagri et al. (2001)
Sorbic acid anhydride PE Culture media Weng and Chen (1997)
Potassium sorbate MC/HPMC/fatty acid Culture media Vojdani and Torres (1990)
MC/palmitic acid Culture media Rico-Pena and Torres (1991)
Starch/glycerol Chicken breast Baron and Summer (1993)
MC/chitosan Culture media Chen et al. (1996)
LDPE Cheese Han (1996)
LDPE Culture media Han and Floros (1997)
a
LDPE, low-density polyethylene; MC, methyl cellulose; HPMC, hydroxypropyl MC; CMC, carboxyl MC; PE, polyethylene; MA, methacrylic
acid; SPI, soy protein isolate; WPI, whey protein isolate.
 S. Quintavalla, L. Vicini / Meat Science 62 (2002) 373380 377

Table 2
Applications of antimicrobial food packaging. Incorporation of pediocins and enzymes in plastic or edible lms

Antimicrobial agent Packaging materiala Substrate Reference

Glucose oxidase Alginate Fish Field, Pivarnick, Barnett, and Rand (1986)
Lysozyme PVOH, nylon, cellulose acetate Culture media Appendini and Hotchkiss (1996)
SPI lm, corn zein lm Culture media Padgett et al. (1998)
Nisin Silicon coating Beef tissue Daeschel, McGuire, and Al-Makhla (1992)
SPI, corn zein lm Culture media Padgett et al. (1998)
PE Broiler drumstick skin Siragusa, Cutter, and Willett (1999)
Corn zein lm Culture media Padgett et al. (2000)
PVC, LDPE, nylon Culture media Natrajan and Sheldon (2000)
PE Phospate buer Cutter, Willett, and Siragusa (2001)
HPMC Culture media Coma, Sebti, Pardon, Deschamps, and Pichavant (2001)
SPI, WPI, WG, EA Phospate buer Ko, Janes, Hettiarachchy, and Johnson (2001)
Corn zein lm Culture media Homan et al. (2001)
Pediocin Cellulose Cooked meats Ming et al. (1997)
a
LDPE, low-density polyethylene; MC, methyl cellulose; HPMC, hydroxypropyl MC; PE, polyethylene; PVOH, polyvinyl alcohol; PVC, poly-
vinyl chloride; SPI, soy protein isolate; WPI, whey protein isolate; WG, wheat gluten; EA, egg albumen.

The presence of fatty acids or other components asso- The irradiated nylon demonstrated antagonistic activity
ciated with adipose tissue might diminish the anti- against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and
bacterial activity of TIP on meat surfaces. Recently, the Escherichia coli TV1058 with 4.5 and 6.0 log reductions,
use of triclosan for food-contact applications has been respectively, of an initial population of 106 cfu/ml. The
allowed in EU countries by the SCF (Scientic Commit- irradiated nylon was ineective against Pseudomonas
tee for Food) in the 10th additional list of monomers and uorescens ATCC 13525 and Enterococcus faecalis
additives for food contact materials (SCF, 2000), with a ATCC 19433 under similar conditions. However, pro-
quantitative restriction on migration of 5 mg/kg of food. tein and salt inhibited the antimicrobial eect of the
In contrast to conventional antimicrobial lms, some irradiated nylon lm.
functional groups that have antimicrobial activity have Other applications of the laser-induced surface modi-
been immobilized on the surface of polymer lms by cations may be used to produce antimicrobial packa-
modied chemical methods to prevent the transfer or ging systems in the future. UV irradiation, like that
migration of antimicrobial substances from the polymer produced by an UV excimer laser at an appropriate
to the food (Haynie, Crum, & Doele, 1995). wavelength, can be used to oxidize O2, previously
Modifying surface composition of polymers by elec- absorbed on a modied surface layer, to O3 by photo-
tron irradiation in such a way that the surface would chemical means (Rooney, 1995). The formed O3 can
contain amine groups has also been shown to exhibit then be desorbed or subjected to controlled-release from
antimicrobial activity that inactivates microorganisms the polymer matrix to the interior of the package. Even
by contact. Cohen et al. (1995) reported that exposure ppm concentrations of O3 are sucient to inhibit
of nylon yarn or fabric to 13 J/cm2 of 193 nm light microbial growth and this approach could signicantly
from an excimer laser in air caused an apparent 10% overcome the necessity of direct contact between the
conversion of amides to amines (resulting in 51012 food and antimicrobial lm to be eective.
surface amines/cm2), which are still bound in the poly- Not only UV treatments can be used to modify lm
mer chain. surfaces. Plasma treatments have gained considerable
The surface-bound amine groups proved active in attention in the food packaging area as methods to
phosphate buer against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC improve adhesion, sealability, wettability and other
25923, Pseudomonas uorescens ATCC 13525 and characteristics of polymers (Ozdemir, Yurteri, & Sadi-
Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 19433. The decrease in koglu, 1999). For example, uorine-based plasmas can
bacterial concentration was more likely due to bacter- be used to form a uorinated surface layer on food
icidal action rather than surface adsorption of the cells packaging polymer surfaces, and the antimicrobial
(Paik, Dhanasekharan, & Kelly, 1998). properties of halogens have been known for years.
Microbial activity on such nylon lms is closely rela-
ted to the laser wavelength used in the process, because 3.1. Antimicrobial edible coatings and lms
laser irradiation at 248 nm does not change surface
chemistry or initiate the conversion of amide moieties There is a growing interest in edible coatings due to
on the surface to amine groups. factors such as environmental concerns, need for new
Shearer, Paik, Hoover, Haynie, and Kelley (2000) storage techniques, and opportunities for creating
irradiated a nylon 6,6 lm with a 193 nm UV excimer. new markets for under-utilized agricultural commodities
378 S. Quintavalla, L. Vicini / Meat Science 62 (2002) 373380

with lm-forming properties. Edible coatings and lms Ouattara, Simard, Piette, Begin, and Holley (2000a,
prepared from polysaccharides, proteins and lipids have 2000b) prepared antimicrobial lms by inclusion of
a variety of advantages such as biodegradability, edibil- various organic acids and essential oils into a chitosan
ity, biocompatibility, aesthetic appearance and barrier matrix, and investigated the ability of these lms to
properties against oxygen and physical stress. inhibit the growth of indigenous (lactic acid bacteria
Some advantages of using edible coatings and lms and Enterobacteriaceae) or inoculated bacteria (Lacto-
on meat and meat products have been discussed recently bacillus sakei and Serratia liquefaciens) onto the surfaces
by Gennadios, Hanna, and Kurth (1997). Edible coat- of vacuum-packed cured meat products. Release of
ings could: organic acids (acetic and propionic acid) was found to
be initially fast, when the gradient of ion concentration
 help alleviate the problem of moisture loss dur- between the inside of the polymer matrix and the out-
ing storage of fresh or frozen meats; side environment was high, then decreased as the release
 hold juices of fresh meat and poultry cuts when of acids progressed. Whereas the antimicrobial lms
packed in retail plastic trays; under study did not aect lactic acid bacteria, the
 reduce the rate of rancidity-causing lipid oxida- growth of Enterobacteriaceae and Serratia liquefaciens
tion and brown coloration-causing myoglobin was delayed or completely inhibited after a storage of 21
oxidation; days at 4  C. Strongest inhibition was observed on sur-
 reduce the load of spoilage and pathogen micro- faces with lower water activity value (bologna), onto
organisms on the surface of coated meats; and which acid release was slower, and with lms containing
 restrict volatile avour loss and foreign odour cinnamaldeyde, as a result of its greater antimicrobial
pick-up. activity under these conditions.

As an application of active packaging, edible coatings

carrying antioxidants or antimicrobials can be used for 4. Regulatory status of antimicrobial packaging in EU
direct treatment of meat surfaces.
In the case of edible lms and coatings, selection of The general problem arising from the use of food
the incorporated active agents is limited to edible com- contact materials depends on their content of sub-
pounds. Because they have to be consumed with edible stances capable of migrating into the contacted food.
lm/coating layers and foods together, their edibility Therefore, to protect the consumer, an assessment of
and safety are essential. the potential hazards from oral exposure to those con-
Antimicrobial edible lms have received attention as a stituents that migrate into the food must be made.
potential pathogen intervention strategy for various Gergely (2001) provided a clear vision of the reg-
muscle foods. Siragusa and Dickinson (1993) demon- ulatory status regarding the use of antimicrobials in
strated that alginate coatings containing organic acids food applications in EU.
were marginally eective on beef carcasses, reducing In general, antimicrobial substances fall under the
levels Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium denition of biocidal products:
and Escherichia coli O157:H7 by 1.80, 2.11, and 0.74
logs, respectively. active substances (and preparations containing one
Complete inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes on or more active substances, put up in the form in
ham, turkey breast meat and beef was obtained using which they are supplied to the user), intended to
pediocin or nisin xed on a cellulose casing (Ming, destroy, deter, render harmless, prevent the action
Weber, Ayres, & Sandine, 1997). Commercial applica- of, or otherwise exert a controlling eect of any
tion of this technology is described in US Patent harmful organism by chemical or biological means.
5,573,797 assigned to Viskase Co. The package is a lm,
such as a polymer lm or a regenerated cellulose provided in Directive 98/8/EC, called Biocide Direc-
lm, containing a heat resistant, Pediococcus-derived tive (EU, 1998). This Directive excludes many product
bacteriocin in a synergistic combination with a chelating categories, falling under other EU directives; hence, on
agent to inhibit or kill Listeria monocytogenes on con- the basis of this exclusion, the category lm pre-
tact with food (Katz, 1999). servatives, listed in one of the Annexes of the directive,
Dawson, Han, and Padgett (1997) and Padgett, Han, would only cover those antimicrobial products used for
and Dawson (1998) used nisin and lysozyme in soy the preservation of plastic materials in general, but not
protein and corn zein lms to inhibit Lactobacillus antimicrobials used in food contact plastic applications.
plantarum and Escherichia coli on laboratory media. Also nished packaging materials containing anti-
Lactobacillus plantarum was inhibited by lm containing microbial substances would not be covered by the Bio-
nisin or lysozyme; the addition of EDTA increased the cide Directive, even for general applications, because
inhibitory eect of lms against Escherichia coli. the directive limits the denition of biocides to cover
 S. Quintavalla, L. Vicini / Meat Science 62 (2002) 373380 379

substances that are put in the form in which they are to extend the eectiveness of food preservation chain.
supplied to the user. The idea of combining antimicrobials with packaging
As a consequence, antimicrobial additives are per- lms to control the growth of microorganisms in food
mitted in food packaging under the Plastics Directive, could have a signicant impact on shelf-life extension
Directive 90/128/EEC as last updated by Directive and food safety.
2002/17/EC (EU, 2002) and, for substances that are not The application of antimicrobial lms might allow for
covered by a listing in the Plastics Directive, the migration of the antimicrobial to the lm surface and
national legislation in place in each of the individual therefore a continued antimicrobial eect at the food
Member Sates must be consulted. surface during extended exposure. Direct addition of
However, the use of biocides is only compliant with antimicrobials to food will result in an immediate
the requirements of these laws if they are required to reduction of bacterial population but this technique
manufacture a nished product, without having a direct may not account for the recovery of injured cells or the
impact on the quality of the packaged food. growth of cells that were not destroyed by direct addition.
In practice, the producer presenting an application for The use of antimicrobial packaging materials in food
safety assessment of a substance to be used in food packaging can minimize the microbial contamination of
contact materials should provide evidence (1) that any food product surfaces during storage, transportation
migration into food is not intentional but only inci- and handling. The main action of these lms is based on
dental; (2) that its use does not exert any preservative the release of antimicrobial substances into food prod-
eect on the food; (3) that it does not allow the selection ucts. Some of these agents could pose a safety risk to
of non-sensitive organisms on the surface of the food consumers if the release is not tightly controlled by
contact materials and that it does not allow the devel- some mechanism within the packaging material itself.
opment of biocide resistance in sensitive microorgan- An interesting innovation could be the use of polymers
isms. The petitioner should also provide evidence that which surfaces have been modied by electron irradia-
the substance is not used to reduce the normal hygienic tion or plasma treatment to generate antimicrobial
measures required in handling foodstus (SCF, 2001). activity without any transfer or migration of substances
If the second criterion is not met, the product must be to the food.
considered a direct food additive (a preservative that As the growth and death rates of bacteria will vary for
prolongs the shelf-life of foodstus by protecting them each growth medium, conclusions on how antimicrobial
against deterioration caused by microorganisms) and lms will perform with a food product must be deter-
would fall under the Miscellaneous Additives Directive mined for each food application.
(EU, 1995).
It is quite dicult to draw a strict line where the
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