Migration evaluation of silver nanoparticles from antimicrobial edible coating to sausages

Use of silver nanoparticles as an antimicrobial compound directly on foodstuff has been attracted attention due to concerns on the total residual silver that remains on the food after preparation. In this work, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were obtained by a green route and applied as edible coating to chicken sausages. Antimicrobial activity of the AgNPs were able to inhibit lactic acid bacteria for 30 days, demonstrating that the increase in the shelf life of the sausages was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The presence of AgNPs also affected the texture of the sausages probably due to the interaction between silver and phosphorous and sulphur from proteins. After 30 days, lipid oxidation was found to be higher in treated sausages than in control samples. Sausages were prepared simulating home cooking and the concentration of silver after each step was determined, showing that a simple washing and cooking procedure was able to remove most of the silver from sausages. Total silver concentration on the sausages after that was 5.3 ngAgNPs/gsausage. Also, no appreciable migration of silver nanoparticles from sausages surface to its interior was detected.