Physico-Chemical, Microbiological and Sensory Evaluation of Ready-to-Use Vegetable Pâté Added with Olive Leaf Extract.

Graziana Difonzo,Giacomo Squeo,Antonella Pasqualone,Maria Calasso,Francesco Caponio

doi:10.3390/foods8040138

Graziana Difonzo, Giacomo Squeo + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/foods8040138

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Abstract

The shelf-life extension implicates the reduction of food waste. Plant polyphenols can have a crucial role in the shelf-life extension of foods. Olive leaf extract (OLE) is rich in phenolic compounds such as oleuropein, which is well-known for its antioxidant properties. Physico-chemical, microbiological and sensory aspects of non-thermally stabilized olive-based pâté fortified with OLE at concentrations of 0.5 (EX0.5) and 1 mg kg−1 (EX1) were investigated. These samples were compared with olive-based pâté fortified with the synthetic antioxidant BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) and with a control sample (CTR) without antioxidants. No sensory defects were perceived in all samples, even if a more intense typical olive flavour was perceived in samples containing OLE compared to those containing BHT and CTR. This result was confirmed by significantly higher levels of 2-methylbutanal and 3-methylbutanal in samples containing OLE compared to CTR and BHT. Moreover, the main microbial groups registered a significant loss of 0.5–1 logarithmic cycles in samples containing OLE, especially in EX1. The results of the present study indicate the potentiality of using OLE as natural preservatives in non-thermally stabilized olive-based pâté, since some spoilage-related microbial groups were negatively affected by the addition of OLE at the highest concentration.

Highlights

Shelf-life is defined as a finite length of time, after manufacture and packaging, during which the food product retains at a required level of quality acceptable for consumption
It is known that different factors can influence the residue of the O2 in the headspace of the samples, such as (i) the effectiveness of the Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) equipment in removing air and (ii) the permeability of the tray-wrap packaging materials in enabling the oxygen exchanges from the headspace of the tray towards the master bag headspace [28]
L* was significantly lower for the samples added with Olive leaf extract (OLE) than BHT and/or control sample (CTR); the opposite trend, instead, appeared for the index a* even if in the most of cases no significant differences between the samples were appreciable

Summary

Introduction

Shelf-life is defined as a finite length of time, after manufacture and packaging, during which the food product retains at a required level of quality acceptable for consumption. Shelf-life is a function of time, environmental factors and susceptibility of product to quality changes [1]. Physico-chemical and biological changes that take place in the food chain are involved in product deterioration. The effect of these changes might compromise several aspects of foods such as nutritional, microbiological and sensory quality. Throwing food away implicates economic and environmental issues [3]. The possibility of using these wastes to obtain ingredients for the food industry could represent a significant step towards maintaining environmental balance

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