The clean-label trend's impact on antioxidant and antimicrobial ingredients
Driven by cleaner labels: The clean-label trend has propelled the use of antioxidant ingredients and had an impact in the antimicrobial ingredient world as well.
The use of antimicrobial and antioxidant ingredients has been growing in recent years for a few reasons. First, the industry is growing with population increases. In addition, consumer interest is shifting to more natural foods, which typically use either fewer antimicrobial and antioxidant ingredients or use ingredients in a different form to provide some of the same functions, says Joseph Sebranek, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in agriculture and life sciences in the department of animal science at Iowa State University, in Ames.
The use of antimicrobials also increased along with the regulations to control Listeria in ready-to-eat food products, says Gary Sullivan, assistant professor of meat processing in the department of animal science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.