Advances in Extending the Microbial Shelf-Life of Bread and Bakery Products Using Different Technologies: A Review

Bread is one of the main foods which is consumed by people, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries. However, bread loses its freshness during a short storage period, and that is an important concern for bakery producers. The loss of bread freshness is mainly due to the staling and microbial contamination. Regarding the importance of bread in the diet of people all over the world, finding suitable solution to increase its shelf life is necessary. Generally, three aspects are needed to prolong the shelf life of bread and bakery products: i) preventing moisture migration from the product by using appropriate packaging; ii) controlling the formulation and process parameters to minimize the staling rate; and iii) controlling the conditions for minimal microbial growth. In this paper, some methods to increase the microbial shelf life of bread and bakery products are addressed.