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Effect of Chitosan Essential Oil Films on the Storage-Keeping Quality of Pork Meat Products

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Abstract

Edible films based on chitosan were prepared, with and without basil or thyme essential oils, with the aim of assessing their protective ability against lipid oxidation and their antimicrobial activity. Chitosan films had good oxygen-barrier properties, which were worsened by essential oil addition, especially when the film equilibrium moisture content increased. Due to the oxygen-barrier effect, all the films effectively protected pork fat from oxidation, in comparison to unprotected samples. In spite of the worsening of the oxygen-barrier properties, the films with essential oils were more effective than those of pure chitosan, which points to the chemical action of specific antioxidant compounds of the oils. Films were effective to control microbial growth in minced pork meat, although the incorporation of essential oils did not improve their antimicrobial activity. Throughout the storage, the films led to colour changes in minced pork meat associated with the conversion of myoglobin into metmyoglobin due to the reduction of the oxygen availability.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the Universitat Politècnica de València (PAID-06-09-2834), Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2010/082) and Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (AGL2010-20694). Author J. Bonilla is deeply grateful to Generalitat Valenciana for a Santiago Grisolía Grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Food Engineering for Development (IUIAD), Universitat Politècnica de València, Camino de Vera s/n., 46022, Valencia, Spain

    Jeannine Bonilla, Maria Vargas, Lorena Atarés & Amparo Chiralt

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  1. Jeannine Bonilla
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  2. Maria Vargas
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  3. Lorena Atarés
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  4. Amparo Chiralt
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Correspondence to Maria Vargas.

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Bonilla, J., Vargas, M., Atarés, L. et al. Effect of Chitosan Essential Oil Films on the Storage-Keeping Quality of Pork Meat Products. Food Bioprocess Technol 7, 2443–2450 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-014-1329-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-014-1329-3

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