The demand for ready- to- eat food is increasing worldwide. Fresh foods are facing challenges in terms of their limited shelf life, association with food borne diseases and outbreak. This results in commercial pressure from consumers on the use of synthetic chemicals as food preservatives. A wide range of synthetic additives are used as preservatives in food industries in order to increase their shelf life and inhibit bacterial growth. However, use of these synthetic chemicals is causing health threats to consumers. Plant antimicrobials are getting into potential interest as a good alternative over synthetic food additives. Limited research has been done on the use of pine antimicrobials in food industry. This research will focus on the use of chemical analysis by qualitative and quantitative techniques in extracting plant antimicrobials (the phytochemicals) from Pinus caribaea needles var. hondurensis, in order to shed light on its potential usage in food industry as a natural food preserving additive. Pinus caribaea needles will be collected from Fiji Pines forest stations (Lololo, Ra, Nabou, Nai, Bua, and Maduata forest stations, and nurseries: Ra, Nabou, and Nadi) of different ages (3 weeks- 6 months, and 5, 10, 15, and 20 years) of the tree. Chemical analysis will be conducted via qualitative (use of chemicals), and quantitative (UV Spectrometry and Gas chromatography, Gas chromatography/ Mass spectrometry) techniques. The effect of the age of the pine needles and its environmental factors on the quantity of phytochemical extraction will be considered. This finding will assist in potential usage of plant antimicrobials extracted from Pinus caribaea needles var. hondurensis in food industry as a food ingredient, and further in- depth research can be continued on this limited research present in literature.

looking for collaborations in writing review papers and ideas in doing this project. Thankyou

thank you