ABSTRACT
Currently, we have access to increasingly more different food types which, due to globalization, can come from very different places. Therefore, it is not surprising that food-borne illnesses are still behind a large number of poisonings and deaths every year. In this scenario, nanotechnology offers the possibility of minimizing the potential health and economic impacts of food-borne pathogens. In particular, some particles, such us colloidal silver, have been applied for centuries as antimicrobial agents. Other antimicrobial agents are completely new and were developed once humans had controlled manipulating matter on a nanoscale. This chapter focuses on the description of nanotechnology-based systems developed to fight against microbial contamination in the food sector. Different nanoparticles, like metallic nanoparticles, have been developed as antimicrobial agents for their ability to inhibit or kill microorganisms given their composition, structure, or size. The use of materials that allow the encapsulation of bioactive compounds in nanoparticles, such as food-grade nanoencapsulation systems or mesoporous silica particles, has been studied in the microbial inhibition area. This global analysis provides valuable information about the possibilities of nanotechnology for controlling food contamination, and will allow the identification of research gaps in forthcoming years.
