Handbook of Meat Processing

276 Chapter 14

acids and their slow release into bologna,

cooked ham, and pastrami. Chitosan fi lms

inhibited indigenous Enterobacteriaceae and

surface - inoculated Serratia liquefaciens ,

but failed to affect growth of lactic acid

bacteria.

Scannell et al. (2000) investigated the

immobilization of lacticin and nisin in

cellulose - based paper and polyethylene/

polyamide plastic for spoilage prevention of

cooked sliced ham. Lacticin was unsuccess-

ful in binding to plastic, while nisin bound

well and retained its activity for 3 months.

Nisin - treated cellulose paper applied to

cooked sliced ham packaged in MAP and

stored at 4 ° C had a slight infl uence on total

plate count over a 24 - day storage period

(1 log 10 CFU/g lower counts compared to

control at the end of the trial). In contrast, this

treatment successfully controlled lactic acid

bacteria (not detectable for nisin - treated vs.

4 log 10 CFU/g increase for control at the end

of the trial). Ming et al. (1997) used pediocin -

coated cellulose casings to control L. mono-

cytogenes growth on surface - inoculated fresh

turkey breast, fresh beef, and ham. L. mono-

cytogenes counts on pediocin - treated casing

did not increase (3 log 10 CFU/ml in rinsates)

over a 12 - week storage time, but increased to

5.5, 6.0, and 4.0 log 10 CFU/ml on untreated

casing for ham, turkey breasts, and beef,

respectively. Franklin et al. (2004) showed

that packaging fi lms coated with cellulose -

based solution containing 7,500 and

10,000 IU/ml nisin signifi cantly inhibited L.

monocytogenes growth in vacuum - packaged,

surface - inoculated hot dogs. Counts remained

at a constant 3 log 10 CFU/package level com-

pared to controls, which increased to 9 logs

Commercial antimicrobial packaging is
available (Table 14.7 ). Silver - substituted
zeolite technology developed in Japan intro-
duces a thin layer (3 to 6 μ m) of Ag - zeolite
on the surface of common food contact poly-
mers. Zeolite slowly releases antimicrobially
active silver in the food, provoking an
antimicrobial effect. AgION ® Silver Ion
Technology received U.S. FDA approval for
use on all food - contact surfaces (FDA 2008 ).
Triclosan - impregnated food packaging mate-
rials recently have been approved in the
European Union as long as migration into
food products does not exceed 5 mg per 1 kg
(Quintavalla and Vicini 2002 ). Triclosan is a
nonionic, broad - spectrum antimicrobial
agent commonly used in personal hygiene
items, such as soaps and detergents. Cutter
(1999) investigated triclosan - incorporated
plastic (1,500 ppm triclosan, Microban ® ,
Microban Products Co., United States)
against bacteria on irradiated, inoculated, and
vacuum - packaged beef surfaces. Except
slight reduction in B. thermosphacta , triclo-
san failed to control populations of
Salmonella , Escherichia , or Bacillus. The
lack of triclosan activity was speculated to be
due to triclosan inactivation by fatty acids
and adipose tissues.
Some inherently antimicrobial polymers
include chitosan (discussed previously) and
irradiated nylon (Quintavalla and Vicini
2002 ; Yingyuad et al. 2006 ). Irradiated nylon
has surface - bound amine groups that are
effective against numerous pathogens,
although we are unaware of its use in meat
applications. Ouattara et al. (2000) investi-
gated chitosan as a food - packaging matrix
for the incorporation of acetic and propionic

Table 14.7. Commercial active antimicrobial packaging

Technology Antimicrobial Trade name Manufacturer

Silver substituted zeolite paper,

plastic

Silver AgIon ® AgIon Technologies LLC

(USA)

Triclosan plastic Triclosan Microban ® Microban Products (UK)

Allylisothiocyanate labels, sheets Allylisothiocyanate WasaOuro ® Lintec Corp. (Japan)