Forschung Projektdatenbank Packaging materials Microbiological Stabilization Hop Extracts

Microbiological Stabilization Hop Extracts

Projectname:
Microbiological stabilization of fresh products by natural hop extracts

Workgroup: Packaging materials

Scientific Partners and Guidance:
Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging, Dr. C. Hauser

IGF: 16975 N
Financing: BMWi
Duration: 2012-2013

Convenience food is an upcoming market in Europe. According to the increasing trend to natural products, that offer greater convenience to consumers, minimally processed products, which are not refined or pasteurized, are being introduced into the market. However, such fresh untreated products have a short shelf life of several days and implicate a potential microbiological risk. This is due to an inherent microflora that is not or only partially inactivated. Relevant for food safety are food borne pathogens, which cause food-borne disease outbreaks – especially psychotropic bacteria like Listeria monocytogenes, which can grow at cooling temperatures and Enterobacteriaceae like Salmonella enterica or Escherichia coli.

The aim of this project is to evaluate hop extracts as natural antimicrobials as well as their application on fresh convenience food, especially produce. A microbial screening will determine the antimicrobial activity of selected hop extracts and in line with these measurements, their sensorial acceptance will be identified. In a next step, appropriate application techniques will be investigated for selected foodstuff (fruits, meat-products convenience food), like spraying, dipping or vacuum infiltration. In order to implement these findings to the current processes in food industry both lab-scale storage-trials and industrial field tests will be carried out in conjunction with microbiological, chemical and sensory analysis. Thus, hop extracts shall help to improve shelf life and safety of minimally processed foods.

Project Reports

Minutes

The IGF project presented here by the Research Association of the Industrial Association for Food Technology and Packaging (IVLV e.V.) is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of the program for the promotion of industrial community research (IGF) based on a decision of the German Bundestag.