The antimicrobial effect of thyme essential oil, nisin, and their combination against Listeria monocytogenes in minced beef during refrigerated storage

Abstract

The antimicrobial effect of thyme essential oil (EO) at 0.3%, 0.6%, or 0.9%, nisin at 500 or 1000 IU/g, and their combination against Listeria monocytogenes was examined in both tryptic soy broth (TSB) and minced beef meat. Thyme EO at 0.3% possessed a weak antibacterial activity against the pathogen in TSB, whereas at 0.9% showed unacceptable organoleptic properties in minced meat. Thus, only the level of 0.6% of EO was further examined against the pathogen in minced meat. Treatment of minced beef meat with nisin at 500 or 1000 IU/g showed antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes, which was dependent on the concentration level of nisin and the strains used. Treatment of minced beef meat with EO at 0.6% showed stronger inhibitory activity against L. monocytogenes than treatment with nisin at 500 or 1000 IU/g. All treatments showed stronger inhibitory activity against the pathogens at 10 °C than at 4 °C. The combined addition of EO at 0.6% and nisin at 500 or 1000 IU/g showed a synergistic activity against the pathogen. Most efficient among treatments was the combination of EO at 0.6% with nisin at 1000 IU/g, which decreased the population of L. monocytogenes below the official limit of the European Union recently set at 2 log cfu/g, during storage at 4 °C.