Chitosan coating incorporated with grape seed extract and Origanum vulgare essential oil: an active packaging for turkey meat preservation

This work was carried out to evaluate the microbial and chemical attributes as well as sensory characteristics of turkey breast meat coated with chitosan incorporated with 1% of Origanum vulgare essential oils (oregano EOs) and 1 or 2% of grape seed extract (GSE) stored at refrigerator for 20 days. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) assay represented that oregano EO is rich in phenolic compounds mainly carvacrol and thymol. Lipid oxidation, as showed by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) values were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in combined treatments containing both oregano EO and GSE which were 0.71 MDA/kg and 10.04 mg N/100 g, respectively in the chitosan containing 2% GSE and 1% oregano EO treatments. The minimum count of total viable count (TVC), Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast-mold were also determined in these treatments which determined 3.54-4.51 Log CFU/mL on day 20 of cold storage. These combined treatments also obtained the highest sensory scores (the overall acceptability was about 7) due to effective delaying microbial and oxidation activities. Therefore, chitosan-based coating containing GSE and oregano EOs can enhance microbial, chemical and organoleptic properties of fish turkey meat under refrigerated storage.

Automated summary

The combination of oregano essential oils and grape seed extract with chitosan coating was found to effectively delay microbial and oxidation activities, maintaining the quality of turkey meat during 20 days of refrigerated storage. These treatments showed lower lipid oxidation values and microbial counts, leading to higher sensory scores.