Evaluation of Food, Agricultural and Biological Materials for Fundamental Characterization and Improved Value-Added Utilization
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abstract
Research is necessary to better understand the contribution that biopolymers and colloidal particles make to the overall physicochemical and mechanical properties of foods (natural and processed) and agricultural materials. The information obtained from this research program will be extremely useful for the food and agricultural industries as it enables manufacturers to improve the properties of existing products, optimize processing conditions, develop new products and reduce manufacturing costs. It will also help in understanding the behavior of polymeric matrices for development of biosensors, dosimeters for better food irradiation treatment planning, and other related tools to address the current needs in food safety.Application of biopolymers as carrier films for antimicrobial delivery systems offers attractive possibilities in the design of systems with tailor-made properties. Such delivery systems are needed to deal with the diverse characteristics of the active agents. High-performance antimicrobial carrier films must be designed to slowly release bacterial inhibitors away from the product surface, thus helping maintain high concentrations where they are needed to limit or prevent microbial growth and maintain food safety. However, the release rate and migration profile of antimicrobial agents in most of the current applications are not specifically controlled.
