Combined effects of thymol, carvacrol and packaging on the shelf-life of marinated chicken
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Date
2019-01Metadata
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The demand for marinated chicken worldwide, is continuously growing. To date, limited data on addition of
active components of Essential Oils (EOs) to marinades for chicken preservation are available. The antimicrobial
effect of carvacrol and thymol, added at 0.4 and 0.8% v/w to marinated fresh chicken, stored in air and under
vacuum packaging (VP), for 21 days at 4 °C, was examined. The samples were monitored for microbiological
(total viable count (TVC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Brochothrix thermosphacta, Pseudomonas spp., total coliforms,
Escherichia coli, yeasts and molds) and sensory attributes (odor characteristics). Our data supports that
among the tested microorganisms, Pseudomonas spp., LAB and B. thermosphacta were the most dominant microbiota
in the marinated chicken samples. Additionally, the use of active EOs components, especially the higher
concentration (0.8% v/w) in combination with VP, retarded the growth of spoilage microbiota and resulted in a
significant reduction of about 2.9–3.1 log cfu/g and a microbiological shelf-life extension of marinated chicken
by>6 days, as judged by TVC data. Interestingly, the combination of active components of EOs at the lower
concentration (0.4% v/w) and packaging (air or vacuum) resulted in a significant sensorial shelf-life extension of
15 and>21 days, as compared to the controls' shelf-life of 9 days. The results of our study demonstrated the
potential of the active components, carvacrol and thymol, as natural effective antimicrobial hurdles to control
the growth of spoilage microorganisms in marinated chicken meat.
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