Abstract
The demand for healthier meat products is increasing remarkably and natural antimicrobial agents such as essential oils (EOs) are required, which can be applied in the vapor phase. For this experiment, the effectiveness of essential oils of oregano, thyme, and orange in the vapor phase on the microbiological and sensory characteristics of sausages inoculated with Salmonella enterica and stored at 4°C during 72 hrs and 144 hrs, were studied. Oregano EO with 2000 ppm was the most effective treatment against Salmonella enterica with a logarithmic reduction of 1.97 Log10 CFU/g compared to thyme 1.36 Log10 CFU/g and orange 1 Log10 CFU/g) after 144 hrs. In relation to the general acceptance level, the meat product exposed to the orange EO in vapor phase presented the highest approval by the judges nevertheless, however, were the ones that showed the least reduction in the microbial population. Finally, the results showed that the addition of essential oil in the vapor phase to meat products exerted a bactericidal effect with higher EOs concentrations and some also caused alterations in the sensorial properties of the product.
Highlights
According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), millions of diseases caused by pathogens present in food originate every year (Ahmed and Shimamoto, 2014)
Biochemical tests revealed that the Gram-negative bacteria isolated from food belonged to the genera Salmonella sp
The previous trend agrees with the study carried out by Nedorostova et al (2009) who mention that essential oils can increase their antimicrobial properties if they are applied in the vapor phase, presenting an inhibitory effect on food pathogens including Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis
Summary
According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), millions of diseases caused by pathogens present in food originate every year (Ahmed and Shimamoto, 2014). It is estimated that 95% of these infections are associated with food of animal origin (Hernandez et al, 2005). Some researchers have directly linked the consumption of contaminated meat with the appearance of outbreaks of salmonellosis (Torlak et al, 2012). This work revealed that 4,926 (20.2%) isolates were recovered from food, and of these, 2,217 (9.1%) were obtained from meat and meat products. This information shows the potential risk of getting salmonellosis from consuming contaminated meat products
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