Food Protection with Chemicals, and by Biocontrol

The use of chemicals to prevent or delay the spoilage of foods derives in part from the fact that such compounds are used with great success in the treatment of diseases of humans, animals, and plants. This is not to imply that any and all chemotherapeutic compounds can or should be used as food preservatives. On the other hand, there are some chemicals of value as food preservatives that would be ineffective or too toxic as chemotherapeutic compounds. With the exception of certain antibiotics, none of the food preservatives now used find any real use as chemotherapeutic compounds in people and animals. Although a large number of chemicals have been described that show potential as food preservatives, only a relatively small number are allowed in food products, due in large part to the strict rules of safety adhered to by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to a lesser extent to the fact that not all compounds that show antimicrobial activity in vitro do so when added to certain foods. Described below are those compounds most widely used, their modes of action where known, and the types of foods in which they are used. Those chemical preservatives generally recognized as safe (GRAS) are summarized in Table 13–1.