natural-products-in-plant-pest-management

36 S. Marín et al.are introduced into their bulk mass, or applied to their surfaces, which subsequentlymigrate into the food or the headspace surrounding the food. Innon-migrating approaches, compounds are applied to the packaging surfacesthat inhibit target microorganisms when they come into contact with them.The most widely used materials in food and drink packaging are variouskinds of papers and boards, which are usually wax-coated to improve theirwater-resistance and increase the shelf-life of the packaged products. Addingan active compound to the wax formulation before coating creates an APmaterial. The shelf-life of the packaging manufactured using cinnamaldehyde-fortified-cinnamonessential oil was evaluated against A. flavus, and itwas found to retain its total activity over the whole 71-day test period. Finally,the efficacy of the coatings was tested in trials with two varieties of strawberries.Complete protection was obtained during 7 days storage at 4°C, duringwhich no visible fungal contamination developed and there were no apparentvisible or organoleptic changes in the strawberries (Rodriguez et al., 2007).López et al. (2007) demonstrated the potential utility of polypropylene andpolyethylene/ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer films with incorporated oreganoor cinnamaldehyde-fortified-cinnamon essential oils at concentrations of4% (w/w) as antifungal packaging materials, also against A. flavus. Theymaintain their antimicrobial properties for more than 2 months, and their usein contact with foodstuffs has been demonstrated not to be harmful to consumers’health. The main drawback could be the organoleptical alteration ofthe packaged food due to the chemicals released by the active package.AP may be an alternative to modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) orcould complement it. For example, the volatile gas phase of combinations ofcinnamon oil and clove oil showed good potential to inhibit growth of spoilagefungi normally found in intermediate moisture foods when combinedwith a modified atmosphere comprising a high concentration of CO 2(40%)and low concentration of O 2(