Metal Oxide Nanostructures in Food Applications: Quality Control and Packaging

Abstract

Metal oxide materials have been applied in different fields due to their excellent functional properties. Metal oxides nanostructuration, preparation with the various morphologies, and their coupling with other structures enhance the unique properties of the materials and open new perspectives for their application in the food industry. Chemical gas sensors that are based on semiconducting metal oxide materials can detect the presence of toxins and volatile organic compounds that are produced in food products due to their spoilage and hazardous processes that may take place during the food aging and transportation. Metal oxide nanomaterials can be used in food processing, packaging, and the preservation industry as well. Moreover, the metal oxide-based nanocomposite structures can provide many advantageous features to the final food packaging material, such as antimicrobial activity, enzyme immobilization, oxygen scavenging, mechanical strength, increasing the stability and the shelf life of food, and securing the food against humidity, temperature, and other physiological factors. In this paper, we review the most recent achievements on the synthesis of metal oxide-based nanostructures and their applications in food quality monitoring and active and intelligent packaging.

Modeling the Effect of Active Modified Atmosphere Packaging on the Microbial Stability and Shelf Life of Gutted Sea Bass

“…Points (HACCP) guidelines (Chapter 13) suggest a minimum oxygen transmission rate in the final package of fish of at least 10,000 cc/m 2 /24 h at 24 • C to provide sufficient oxygen that allows growth of aerobic spoilage organisms before Clostridium botulinum toxin formation under moderate abuse temperatures, thus limiting the innovation and application of new packaging methods in the fish industry sector [44]. Future research should be focused on initiating hurdle technologies for optimum active packaging systems by incorporating multiple active components or active and smart functionalities in one system [38,45,46]. For example, the combined use of validated shelf life models for active MAP fish with an indicator with a function of CO 2 detection in the package headspace and a TTI would provide useful information on the probability of the quality deterioration of packed fish, allowing the better management and optimization of the cold chain from manufacture to consumption.…”

Application of ZnO-nanoparticles to manage Rhizopus soft rot of sweet potato and prolong shelf-life

“…Also, zinc has catalyzing effects on human bone formation and immune system regulation (McClung and Scrimgeour, 2005;Du et al, 2006). Since ZnO was reported to be a safe substance, it has been used as a food preservative and in food packing (Espitia et al, 2012;Sogvar et al, 2016;Galstyan et al, 2018). Interestingly, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food (EC SCF, 2003) stated that there is no observed adverse effect level of zinc on human health of approximately 50 mg zinc per day.…”

Chemical Gas Sensors Studied at SENSOR Lab, Brescia (Italy): From Conventional to Energy-Efficient and Biocompatible Composite Structures

“…The concept of the EN device allows developing a system with enhanced sensitivity and selectivity. We reported a detailed description of the studies of EN systems in our previous papers [44,[99][100][101][102]. The approaches presented in sections 2 and 3 have been successfully applied in the manufacturing of electronic nose (EN) systems.…”