Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 14.1
Crumb structure of bread made with acerola cherry (courtesy of Campden BRI,
Chipping Campden, and UK).
It is well-known that propionic acid delivered in the form of calcium propionate
is an effective antimicrobial agent for use in bakery products. However, it is not a
straightforward task to replace the chemical form of the propionate with the
natural propionate as the activity in the natural equivalent can vary in some
instances, for example, having only one fi fth of the propionate activity (Grundy
1996). Therefore, fi ve times more of the natural preservatives have to be added in
order to achieve similar preservative action. This also has economic implications
as well making the natural preservative more costly and hence is a stumbling
block to its use in baked products on a wide scale.
The juice of a number of berries has been studied with respect to antibacterial
activity against a range of bacteria and yeasts. It was found that raspberry and
blackcurrant cordials inhibited the growth of 12 bacteria and the yeast
Candida
albicans
(Cavanagh
et al.
2004). This suggested that the antibacterial activity of
these berries may be of benefi t as a means to enhance shelf life when incorporated
into food products.
Dried plums contain about 2% naturally occurring malic acid, which has been
shown to help to inhibit microbial spoilage and can also serve as the natural acid
component of chemical leavening systems. Dried plum juice concentrate has been
shown to be equal to or more effective than raisin juice concentrate as a natural
preservative in whole grain bread (Sanders 1991). In addition to mould inhibition,
Search WWH ::
Custom Search