Estudio comparativo de la efectividad de conservación entre conservantes naturales y conservantes tradicionales empleados en alimentos.

Abstract

To delay food spoilage and inhibit pathogenic microbial action, antimicrobial substances are used, usually of artificial origin, which in addition to increasing shelf life, serve to maintain the quality and organoleptic characteristics of the product. Currently, these agents are associated with serious adverse health effects such as allergies, intoxications, botulism, cancer, among others, even when consumed in low doses, considering consumer preferences for natural preservatives and concerns about the safety of synthetic preservatives, which has led the food industry to seek healthier and more beneficial alternatives. For this descriptive research, information was collected from several articles from scientific bases of the last 5 years. The objective of this research is to carry out a comparative study of the effectiveness of conservation between natural and traditional preservatives used in food for the reduction of harmful effects on the consumer's health through a bibliographic review. It was found that both types of preservatives have similar antimicrobial properties, differing in their source of production. The wide field of application of natural preservatives was determined, such as the use of essential oils, bacteriocins, vegetable extracts, among others, which are applied in the form of immersion solutions, edible coatings, films, waxes, packaging, among others. The traditional preservatives most widely used in the industry are nitrites and nitrates, sorbates, benzoates and sulfates.