ANTIMICROBIAL BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING FOR INCREASING FOOD PRESERVATION TIME
Food spoilage is inevitable - it is only a matter of time, which is exacerbated by external factors. The main cause of food spoilage is the development of pathogenic microorganisms. They can get on a food product at any stage of the technological chain - during production, at the stages of packaging, sale or sale. Today, transportation of food products is impossible without the right choice of packaging material. Therefore, at the end of the 20th century, a relatively new direction of packaging materials appeared - polymer materials with a number of specific properties, the so-called "active" materials. This article discusses the problem of food spoilage under various microorganisms. Food packaging is considered one of the factors in reducing the risk of microbiological spoilage. Presented are the results of the study of the storage of food products in the obtained antimicrobial food packaging. The study of the antimicrobial properties of the developed polymer material containing an active antimicrobial substance based on a biocide - zinc pyrithione, ZnP, zinc chelate compound (ZHC) - was carried out using polysaccharide additives that promote the manifestation of the modified material with biodegradation properties. A method of introducing a biocide into packaging materials (polyethylene films) by extrusion is proposed. The analysis of modified PE films was carried out according to GOST methods for physical and mechanical, microbiological indicators, biodegradability. Based on the studies carried out, it was concluded that it is advisable to use packaging polymeric antimicrobial materials based on the ZHC biocide for storing fresh food products. It has been established that the use of modified films prevents food spoilage by suppressing the development of pathogenic microorganisms and increases the shelf life of food products by 2 or more times.