Patent ID: 7311933

Claim:
A packaging material used for wrapping foodstuffs and for inhibiting the growth of micro-organisms in foodstuffs, said packaging material having a metal-ion sequestering agent capable of removing designated metals ions from the surfaces of said foodstuffs and from liquid extrudates of foodstuffs, wherein said sequestering agent comprises derivatized nanoparticles comprising inorganic nanoparticles having an attached metal-ion sequestrant, wherein said inorganic nanoparticles have an average particle size of less than 200 nm and the derivatized nanoparticles have a stability constant greater than 10 10 with iron (III), and wherein the metal-ion sequestrant is attached to the nanoparticle, by reacting the nanoparticle with a metal alkoxide intermediate of the sequestrant having the general formula: M(OR) 4-x R′ x; wherein M is silicon, titanium, aluminum, tin, or germanium; x is an integer from 1 to 3; R is an organic group; and R′ is an organic group containing an alpha amino carboxylate, a hydroxamate, or a catechol.