Store Bread without Worry

Study tells why virgin olive oil protects from heart attacks

A new type of paper packaging made with cinnamon oil will preserve bread and other baked food by up to 10 days, say researchers of University of Zaragoza in Spain. Some scientists have earlier tried out various methods for fighting bread mold, a kind of fungus, including ultraviolet light, sterile packaging and chemical preservatives. For the study, the scientists prepared active packaging composed of paraffin wax paper with different concentrations of cinnamon essential oil, which has high antimicrobial activity.

They injected a common mold species into fresh white bread and stored the bread in either plain wax paper or cinnamon-based wax paper. After three days, the packaging containing six per cent cinnamon oil inhibited 96 per cent of mold growth, whereas the plain wax paper did not prevent mold growth, the researchers say. The cinnamon-based wrapper continued to inhibit mold for up to 10 days.

Source

Down To Earth, October, 2008