Despite the fact that preserving effects of some food have benefited man for millennia, only recently is their activity deeply researched. Antimicrobial agents might be synthetic components intentionally added to food or natural components, substances with a biologic origin (also called natural antimicrobials) that might be commercially used as additives to preserve food. An example of the latter are the diverse varieties of spices and herbs —matter of rigorous scientific research in recent years—, which have been proved to have an inhibiting effect in the growth of bacteria causing food-transmitted illnesses, including Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus cereus. Thence, the potential as an additional, microorganism-controlling barrier that these components have, is pointed out, within the diverse available food preserving technologies.
