title: Chitosan dipping or oregano oil treatments, singly or combined on modified atmosphere packaged chicken breast meat.
abstract: The present study examined the effect of natural antimicrobials: chitosan, oregano and their combination, on the shelf-life of modified atmosphere packaged chicken breast meat stored at 4°C. Treatments examined in the present study were the following: M (control samples stored under modified atmosphere packaging), M-O (samples treated with oregano oil 0.25% v/w, stored under MAP), M-CH (samples treated with chitosan 1.5% w/v, stored under MAP) and M-CH-O (treated with chitosan 1.5% w/v and oregano oil 0.25% v/w, stored under MAP). Treatment, M-CH-O, significantly affected mesophilic Total Plate Counts (TPC), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Brochothrix thermosphacta, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., and yeasts-moulds during the storage period. Lipid oxidation (as determined by MDA values) of control and treated chicken samples was in general low and below 0.5 mg MDA/kg, showing no oxidative rancidity during the storage period. Addition of chitosan to the chicken samples produced higher (P<0.05) lightness (L*) values as compared to the control samples. The results of this study indicate that the shelf-life of chicken fillets can be extended using, either oregano oil singly, and/or chitosan, by approximately 6 (M-O) and >15 (M-CH and M-CH-O) days. Interestingly, chitosan (M-CH) or chitosan-oregano (M-CH-O) treated chicken samples were sensorially acceptable during the entire refrigerated storage period of 21 days. It is noteworthy that the presence of chitosan in M-CH and M-CH-O samples did not negatively influence the taste of chicken samples, with M-CH samples receiving a higher score (compared to M-CH-O), probably as a result of a distinct and "spicy" lemon taste of chitosan, that was well received by the panelists. Based primarily on sensory data (taste attribute) M-CH and M-O treatments extended the shelf-life of chicken fillets by 6 days, while M-CH-O treatment resulted in a product with a shelf-life of 14 days, maintaining acceptable sensory characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology, Department of Chemistry, University of Ioannina, Ioannina 45110, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Petrou
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsiraki
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Giatrakou
authors.forename: I N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Savvaidis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001272:Atmosphere; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002645:Chickens; D048271:Chitosan / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018857:Food Packaging / Q000379:methods; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D007777:Lactobacillaceae; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D031341:Origanum; D013649:Taste; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D048271:Chitosan