What are food preservatives

 

Food preservatives are additives that reduce the growth of spoilage organisms such as mold or bacteria in cooked products. They also serve to limit changes in color, texture and flavor.

Natural additives are those that the consumer expects to be derived from natural sources, such as:

• Vinegar
• Vitamin C
• Cultivated starches
• Spices
• Herbal extracts

 

But next to natural preservatives, one of the synthetic preservatives that is completely healthy for oral consumption, unlike many other similar ones, is potassium sorbate.

Potassium sorbate is a natural unsaturated fatty acid and is completely safe from the point of view of health and has the least allergenic potential among all food preservatives.

A preservative used to suppress the formation of molds and yeasts in foods, wines and personal care products.

In the following, we will mention some characteristics of natural preservatives:

 

Lineage

 

Natural preservatives, mainly spices and plant extracts, have been used in cooking for centuries. Today, consumers are looking to avoid artificial additives and preservatives.

 

Sources

 

Natural preservatives used in baked goods that have a longer shelf life can be classified in several ways:

 

 

Antimicrobials

 

Moldy foods are unpleasant, taste bad and are often dangerous. Some molds cause allergic reactions, respiratory problems or produce toxic mycotoxins. Good hygiene practices and packaging controls can help minimize contamination, but there are also natural preservatives that help.

Vinegar (acetic acid): At the appropriate consumption level and under certain conditions, this weak organic acid can penetrate the cell membrane and prevent cell growth by increasing intracellular acidity.

Lactic acid bacteria: Lactic acid bacteria produce molecules such as organic acids, fatty acids, hydrogen peroxide and bacteriocins (such as nisin) that can inhibit mold growth.

Plant extracts: thyme, rosemary, cinnamon, cloves, lemon grass, allspice, bay leaves, ginger, garlic and basil have been shown to disrupt cell membrane processes. Finding an effective level without changing the organoleptic characteristics of the food product can be a challenge.

Cultured products and their metabolites: These products are produced by fermentation of whey, wheat or corn syrup products with standard dairy culture. The active ingredients produced are a mixture of propionic, butyric, citric, lactic acids and peptides that can inhibit mold growth.

Natamycin: A microbially derived natural antifungal agent used as a food preservative. It affects all yeasts and molds, so it is limited to spraying on yeast bread after baking. It is also used as a preservative in non-yeast baked products such as tortillas, cakes and cookies.

Fruit concentrate: When raisin pulp concentrate or plum juice concentrate is used in baked goods at concentrations between 5 and 12 percent, natural organic acids (malic, benzoic and salicylate) have a preservative effect to preserve food products.

Tea extracts: Tea contains tannins and polyphenol compounds that have been shown to have antibacterial and bacteriostatic properties against a wide range of bacteria.

Chitosan: can be obtained from crustacean shells or kyber mushrooms. This substance inhibits microbes by creating a barrier that can protect against microbial contamination and oxidation.

 

Antioxidants

Oxidation causes unpleasant taste changes, sour notes, discoloration and often loss of nutritional value in foods. This self-propagating reaction is not reversible, and is mainly seen in fats and oils as lipid oxidation. Antioxidants slow down the process of fat oxidation by donating hydrogen atoms.

 

 

Rosemary Extract: Carnosic acid naturally present in rosemary acts as an antioxidant. Rosemary extract is known as an effective and versatile natural antioxidant for food.

Vitamin E (tocopherol): mixed tocopherols are resistant to food processing steps at high temperature and have good solubility in fats and oils.

Acerola cherry extract: It is a fruit extract that contains many antioxidants such as vitamin C, anthocyanins, flavonoids and phenolics.

Green tea extract: contains polyphenols, which are natural antioxidants. This has been successfully tested on cookies.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid): acts as an antioxidant by creating double bonds and removing oxygen.

 

Application

 

There is often synergy between different antimicrobial agents and oxidants, and their use in combination is beneficial. The chelator, citric acid, binds to free metals, catalyzing reactions such as oxidation that allow the preservative to work more effectively.