Current Practices in Bread Packaging and Possibility of Improving Bread Shelf Life by Nanotechnology

Bread products without packaging stay fresh only until few hours after baking. The main causes that reduce the quality of bread are staling and growth o f microorganisms. There are many packaging methods to increase bread shelf life and to reduce growth of microorganisms. In this paper, the current practices of bread packaging in bakery industry, and recent advances in methods of improving bread shelf life has been reviewed. Advances in nanotechnology for applicat ion to active food packaging such as antimicrob ial packaging have also been described. Finally, risk of using nanoparticle in food packaging has been briefly reported. W ith recent advances in nanotechnology, bread shelf life and bread quality may be improved by incorporating nanoparticles in packaging materials. However, health and environ mental risk factors must be evaluated and tested before commercializing nanoparticle based bread packaging materials.