Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
2008
; Chaudhry et al.
2008
). Kodak company is developing antimicrobial packag-
ing for food products as “active packaging,” which would absorb oxygen (Asadi
and Mousavi
2006
). Other companies include FresherLonger
Miracle Food
™
Storage Containers” and “FresherLonger
Plastic Storage Bags” from Sharper
Image
®
(USA), “Nano Silver Food Containers” from A-DO Korea, and “Nano
Silver Baby Milk Bottle” from Baby Dream
®
Co. Ltd. (South Korea). Oxygen
scavenging packaging using enzymes between polyethylene films have also been
developed (Lopez-Rubio et al.
2006
). An active packaging application could also
be designed to stop microbial growth once the package is opened by the consumer
and rewrapped with an active-film portion of the package (Brody
2007
). Zinc oxide
quantum dots were utilized as a powder, bound in a polystyrene film (ZnO-PS), or
suspended in a polyvinylpyrrolidone gel (ZnO-PVP) as antimicrobial packaging
against
Listeria monocytogenes
,
Salmonella enteritidis
, and
Escherichia coli
O157:
H7 (Sun et al.
2009
).
™
1.9.3 Smart/Intelligent Packaging
A multi-detection test—FoodExpertID—has been developed by bioMerieux for
nano-surveillance response to food scares. Nanoscale radio-frequency identification
tags (RFID) have been developed to track containers or individual food items
(Baruah and Dutta
2009
) and are being used in retailing chains (Joseph and Morrison
2006
; Asadi and Mousavi
2006
). The nanotech company pSiNutria is also develop-
ing nano-based tracking technologies, including an ingestible BioSilicon which
could be placed in foods for monitoring purposes and pathogen detection but could
also be eaten by consumers (Scrinis and Lyons
2007
; Miller and Senjen
2008
). The
US company Oxonica Inc. has developed nano-barcodes (20-500 nm in diameter and
0.04-15 mm in length) to be used for individual items or pellets, which must be read
with a modified microscope for anti-counterfeiting purposes (Miller and Senjen
2008
; Warad and Dutta
2005
). Engineered nanosensors are being developed by
Kraft along with Rutgers University (USA) within packages to change color to
warn the consumer if a food is beginning to spoil or has been contaminated by
pathogens using electronic “noses” and “tongues” to “taste” or “smell” scents and
flavors (Scrinis and Lyons
2007
; Sozer and Kokini
2009
; Joseph and Morrison
2006
;
Asadi and Mousavi
2006
). Nestl´, British Airways, and Monoprix supermarkets are
using chemical nanosensors that can detect color change (Pehanich
2006
).
1.9.4 Edible Nanocoatings
A nanolaminate consists of two or more layers of material with nanometer dimen-
sions that are physically or chemically bonded to each other (1-100 nm per layer,
usually 5 nm). These could be used to encapsulate various hydrophilic, amphiphilic,
