The effect of rosemary extract and lactic acid on the quality of refrigerated broiler fillets

Halochromic smart packaging film based on montmorillonite/polyvinyl alcohol-high amylose starch nanocomposite for monitoring chicken meat freshness

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was blended with high amylose starch (HAS) at a ratio of 3:1, and reinforced with montmorillonite (MMT K10) at different concentrations (1, 2, 5, and 7 % w/w of polymers) and anthocyanins (ANT) to develop an active and smart packaging film. MMT addition enhanced the film's mechanical, barrier, thermal, and water resistance properties. Incorporating ANT extracted from roselle calyx into the optimal nanocomposite film (MMT/PVA-HAS II) increased the films' antioxidant, pH-response, and antibacterial properties. FTIR, XRD, and SEM confirmed the intermolecular interactions and even distribution of ANT and MMT in the film matrix. Release rate of ANT was dependent on type of simulant, with higher rate in aqueous solutions compared to alcoholic/fatty food simulants, and cytotoxicity evaluation proved safety of films for food packaging applications. Storage experiments confirmed the potential applicability of the novel halochromic smart film as a promising candidate for monitoring chicken spoilage under abusive storage conditions.

Chemistry, Safety, and Challenges of the Use of Organic Acids and Their Derivative Salts in Meat Preservation

Meat industries are constantly facing new waves of changes in the consumer’s nutritional trends, food safety, and quality requirements and legislations leading to an increase in interest for meat biopreservation to respond to all of these modern socioeconomic demands. Hence, to replace synthetic and/or expensive additives, new technologies in preserving meat products from microbial contamination have been established. In this context, organic acids and their salts have been considered as the most popular examples of preservatives that offer several advantages to be applied in meat industry. Here, characteristics of organic acids/salts commonly used in meat preservation were described based on the published literature. Moreover, after outlining the challenges and advantages of their use in meat industry, their current applications as meat preservatives on various meat type matrices such as beef, pork, sheep, and poultry were quite exposed based on previous and recent research works. Then, different application types were highlighted. Besides, some potent synergistic approaches based on several combinations of organic acids/salts with different existing preservative techniques are reported with an emphasised discussion of their application as possible solution tools to mainly overcome some problems linked to organic acids/salts when used solely, thus contributing to ensure the overall safety and improve the quality of meats. Finally, despite their usefulness in meat preservation, organic acids/salts may possess detrimental traits. In this context, a detailed discussion on their limits of use in meat products was provided in the last section of this paper.