Ayse Tulin Oz and Ebru Kafkas Ayse Tulin Oz and Ebru Kafkas

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/65787

#### **Abstract**

Fruits and vegetables are the most important sources of phytochemicals. Phytochemicals use for both human diets and natural antimicrobial agents in food preservation. Their benefits for health are mainly due to high antioxidant activity. Antimicrobials of plant origin are known as secondary metabolites that could play a role not only individually or jointly against food‐borne pathogens but also contribute to food flavor. Phytochemicals have a strong effect on control and prevention of natural spoilage processes and growth of microorganisms, including pathogens causing food safety issues. Microorganisms are always associated with harvested plants and slaughtered animals, the basic unprocessed materials of the food industry. Since foods consumed by humans undergo several pro‐ cessing treatments, it is important to understand the effect of such treatments on the phytochemical composition of foods.

**Keywords:** phytochemicals, food preservatives, food spoilage, food phenolics
