Non-thermal antimicrobial interventions have recently gained much attention as there is a change in consumer patterns who now demand foods manufactured by minimal processing and are free of synthetic chemical additives. This thesis discusses the application of essential oils (thyme oil) and their components (cinnamaldehyde) to control of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and Listeria that are responsible for numerous deaths, hospitalizations and food product recalls. Poultry meat is one of the common vehicles of transmission of Non-typhoidal Salmonella and thus we proposed the application of thyme oil to assess the survivability of Salmonella enterica artificially inoculated in chicken breast meat, marinated in a lemon-based marinade containing varying levels of thyme oil. Cells in the long-term phase have been found to be more tolerant to heat, cold plasma, high pressure processing or UV-radiation. The second objective of the thesis addresses the tolerance Listeria and Salmonella in the long-term survival phase exhibit when exposed to cinnamaldehyde in saline and apple juice compared to cells in the stationary phase. The results demonstrate that essential oils have are potent antimicrobials and thus can be used to enhance safety and extend shelf life of food.