Comparison of the antifungal activity of titanium dioxide based nanosilver packaging and conventional polyethylene packaging in consumed bread

<p>Using titanium dioxide nanosilver packaging which is antibacterial and resistance to the diffusion of gases such as oxygen is increasing in food industry. Therefore we compared the effect of titanium dioxide based nanosilver packaging and conventional polyethylene packaging - on fungal flora of consuming bread in order to increase the shelf life storage of consuming bread. One hundred forty four samples of 6 different types of loaf of bread randomly obtained from 12 bakeries in District 2 of Tehran. The samples were packaged with 3%, 5% and 10% nano coatings and also conventional polyethylene coatings as control group. The bacterial examination and monitoring of samples, according to the national standards of Iran was carried out 3 times, on days 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28, of study period.This study showed that the film type and storage period, were main factors which significantly influenced fungal flora of bread. The lowest rate of various fungi growth (%14) was observed in 10% Nano film, while the highest rate of various fungi growth (47%) was observed in conventional polyethylene coating (P&lt;0.001). With increasing storage periods, the number of various fungi increased, however this correlation was not similar in most of breads and fungi types. There were significant difference between them (P = 0.001). According to the results of the present study, due to increasing population growth and in order to improve food security, using packages with nanosilver particles which are based on titanium dioxide, prevails over the polyethylene packages. Therefore using such packages are highly recommended in bakery industry.