Increasing consumer demand for microbiologically safer foods, greater convenience, smaller packages, and longer product shelf life is forcing the industry to develop new food-processing, cooking, handling, and packaging strategies. Nonfluid ready-to-eat foods are frequently exposed to postprocess surface contamination, leading to a reduction in shelf life. The food industry has at its disposal a wide range of nonedible polypropylene- and polyethylene-based packaging materials and various biodegradable protein- and polysaccharide-based edible films that can potentially serve as packaging materials. Research on the use of edible films as packaging materials continues because of the potential for these films to enhance food quality, food safety, and product shelf life. Besides acting as a barrier against mass diffusion (moisture, gases, and volatiles), edible films can serve as carriers for a wide range of food additives, including flavoring agents, antioxidants, vitamins, and colorants. When antimicrobial agents such as benzoic acid, sorbic acid, propionic acid, lactic acid, nisin, and lysozyme have been incorporated into edible films, such films retarded surface growth of bacteria, yeasts, and molds on a wide range of products, including meats and cheeses. Various antimicrobial edible films have been developed to minimize growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, including Listeria monocytogenes, which may contaminate the surface of cooked ready-to-eat foods after processing. Here, we review the various types of protein-based (wheat gluten, collagen, corn zein, soy, casein, and whey protein), polysaccharide-based (cellulose, chitosan, alginate, starch, pectin, and dextrin), and lipid-based (waxes, acylglycerols, and fatty acids) edible films and a wide range of antimicrobial agents that have been or could potentially be incorporated into such films during manufacture to enhance the safety and shelf life of ready-to-eat foods.

Cheddar cheeses with five different fat levels (34, 32, 27, 21, and 13 %) were manufactured in a randomized block design experiment and replicated four times. Cheeses were ripened for 4 months at 7°C. Microstructure was studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Texture characteristics (adhesiveness, cohesiveness, hardness, and springiness) were determined by Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) using the Instron Universal Testing Machine and a trained sensory panel. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the open-intricate microstructure of the cheeses was lost with a decrease in fat content. Hardness and springiness increased while adhesiveness and cohesiveness of the cheeses decreased with decreasing fat content. Texture attributes were influenced by the nature of the protein matrix that resulted due to fat removal.

: Low pH (5.2) whey protein isolate‐based edible films containing p‐aminobenzoic acid (PABA) or sorbic acid (SA) were developed and assessed for inhibition of Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 in a disc diffusion assay. Water vapor permeability (WVP), tensile strength (TS), and percent elongation (%E) were also determined. Using 1.5% PABA and SA, average inhibition zone diameters were 21.8, 14.6, 13.9, and 26.7, 10.5, 9.7 mm for L. monocytogenes, E. coli O157:H7, and S. Typhimurium DT104, respectively. Three strains of S. Typhimurium DT104 were resistant to 0.5% SA. Addition of PABA and SA increased %E, but decreased TS. WVP was not affected by 0.5% and 0.75% SA; however, PABA increased WVP.

Two commercial strains of Bifidobacterium spp (Bf -1 and Bf -6) were cultured in 12% (w/w) reconstituted nonfat dry milk (NDM) containing 0, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, or 5.0% (w/v) fructooligosaccharide (FOS), galactooligosaccharide (GOS), and inulin. Inoculated samples were incubated anaerobically at 37°C for 48 h. Growth and activity of the cultures in the presence of FOS, GOS, and inulin were determined. Viability of each strain was assessed after 4 weeks of refrigerated storage at 4°C. Growth promotion, enhancement of activity and retention of viability were greatest when Bifidobacterium Bf-1 and Bf-6 were grown in the presence of FOS followed in a descending order by GOS and inulin. The effects of oligosaccharides and inulin increased with increasing carbohydrate concentration and was maximal at 5% (w/v).

425The conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) concentration of a variety of processed cheese products ranged between 3.2 to 8.9 mg/g fat. Processing cheddar cheese at temperaturcs of 80°C and 90°C under atmospheric conditions increased (p < 0.05) CLA content, while processing under nitrogen (70°C, 85°C) had no effect. Increasing concentrations of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and its low molecular weight (LMW) fraction from 0 to 6% increased CLA formation. Six percent WPC and LMW fraction pre~ duced a 35% and 19% increase in CLA concentration,respectively, compared to processed cheese. The high molecular weight fraction of WPC did not increase CLA concentration. These results suggest that processing conditions and whey components play a role in CLA formation in processed cheese.