Antimicrobial properties of headspace isothiocyanates on spoilage bacteria in a food packaging system Nur Alim Bahmid (a, b*), Nina van Iersel (a), Jenneke Heising (a), Matthijs Dekker (a)
a) Food Quality and Design Group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
b) Agricultural Product Technology Department, Sulawesi Barat University, Majene 91412, Indonesia
Abstract
Antibacterial properties of headspace ITCs on Pseudomonas fragi in a food packaging system
Spoilage of highly perishable foods is mainly caused by Pseudomonas fragi. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) derived from plants of the Brassica family are able to inhibit the growth of Pseudomonas fragi. Several ITCs have shown antimicrobial potency against various bacteria when applied in the liquid phase. However, not much is known about their application in the gaseous phase. This research aims to investigate the antimicrobial potential of two types of ITCs, 3-(methylsulfinyl) propyl ITC (3-MSITC) and Benzyl ITC (BITC), in the gaseous phase. To investigate the antimicrobial potency of both ITCs in the gaseous phase, the concentration of the ITCs in the headspace was measured using Gas Chromatography and the microbial growth was monitored over time. From these data, a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined. The concentration of 3-MSITC in the gaseous phase was too low to exert an antimicrobial effect in the gaseous phase. Therefore, no MIC for 3-MSITC in the gaseous phase could be determined. BITC showed an antimicrobial effect when applied in the gaseous phase with MIC observed at 1.25-12.5 ppm. These findings implicate that 3-MSITC is not suitable as an antimicrobial in the headspace of food packaging. Based on its antimicrobial effect in the gaseous phase, BITC showed to be a promising candidate for use as antimicrobials in food packaging to inhibit the spoilage bacteria growing in highly perishable foods.
