Test the effects of lemongrass essential oil in mango preservation. Photo: NVCC
According to Master Lieu My Dong, Head of Food Science Department, University of Food Industry, mold is one of the main causes of loss of agricultural products after harvest. In addition, some mold strains, such as Mycotoxin, Aflatoxins, Ochratoxins, and etc, are very heat-stable, do not decompose after processing, and can cause cancer in humans.
To limit postharvest losses, antifungal drugs are widely used today. However, these drugs are ineffective against all major pathogens, but have the potential to impact the environment, affect human health, and form drug resistant strains.
Vegetable essential oils have many advantages, such as safety, broad antibacterial spectrum, inhibiting the generation of toxins, low ability to create resistant mold strains, and available raw materials. In which, cinnamon essential oil is resistant to Campylobacter jejuni and Listeria innocua in preserving fresh chicken meat, and resistant to Escherichia coli in pork preservation, and etc.
At present, the authors continue to test the preservative effects of essential oils and membranes on different agricultural products and foods; and research to improve the ability to disperse essential oils in the envelope evenly to enable large-scale storage technology transfer. |