Utilisation of natural and by-products to improve wine safety

Although wine is considered a relatively safe food product, there are a number of hazards associated with the use of certain additives and with some microbial metabolites produced during the winemaking process. Particularly, sulphur dioxide (SO2) may be responsible for adverse health effects in a small but significant proportion of the population. Thus, SO2 reduction or replacement is a major driver in the search for new antimicrobial and antioxidant agents. In this context, there is a growing interest in the antimicrobial properties of naturally existing products, which could be applied in the winemaking process. In this chapter we discuss the current knowledge about the effects of natural antimicrobial products (both intrinsic and extrinsic to wine composition) that can be used to minimise some health risks in the context of food safety. The role of phenolic compounds is emphasised since they seem to play a pivotal role in the antimicrobial activities of plant-derived materials but the use of proteins (lysozyme, bacteriocins and peptides) is also discussed. Finally the state of the art of the use of natural extracts in winemaking context is reviewed.