Green Consumerism and Alternative Approaches for Food Preservation: an Introduction

Consumer awareness towards the use of natural compounds has increased significantly since the beginning of 1990s and new trend has arisen in food industry, i.e. the green consumerism.

The green consumerism is the basis for the development of alternative approaches for food preservation, like the use of natural compounds (essential oils, lysozyme, nisin and other bacteriocins, chitosan) and nonthermal treatments (high hydrostatic pressures, homogenization, microwave, irradiation).

These new technologies are the topics of this e-book; this chapter offers an introduction to the entire work.

Keywords: what is green consumerism, why green consumerism, book structure.