Combined natural antimicrobial treatments on a ready-to-eat poultry product stored at 4 and 8°C.

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of natural antimicrobial agents EDTA, lysozyme, and 2 essential oils (rosemary and oregano) on the quality of a ready-to-eat poultry product (semicooked coated; SCC) stored under aerobic packaging conditions at 4°C (retail) and 8°C (abuse) for a period of 16 d. Treatments included the following air-packaged chicken fillets (control, untreated); with EDTA (1.50% wt/wt); with lysozyme solution (1.50% wt/wt); with rosemary oil (0.20% vol/wt); with oregano oil (0.20% vol/wt); with a combination of EDTA and lysozyme solutions (1.50% wt/wt each); and with the combination of EDTA, lysozyme, and either rosemary or oregano essential oils (all added at concentrations previously mentioned). The shelf life of the SCC samples (untreated and treated) was determined using both microbiological and sensory analyses. Natural antimicrobial combinations consisting of EDTA, lysozyme, and rosemary or oregano essential oil affected the growth of Pseudomonas and yeasts and molds, whereas EDTA, lysozyme, and rosemary essential oil controlled Brochothrix thermosphacta population in the SCC chicken fillets stored at 4 and 8°C. The combination of EDTA, lysozyme, and either rosemary or oregano resulted in a shelf life extension of 5 d compared with the control samples at both 4 and 8°C, with the former combination producing a more sensorially acceptable product.