Published in Scientific Papers. Series D. Animal Science, Vol. LXVII, Issue 2
Written by Georgia OLARU, Elena POPA, Mona POPA
Food packaging is innovating towards greener polymers and wider applications of bioactive compounds. Biodegradable active packaging based on natural compounds is a new approach, as it aims to improve shelf life. In this study, the active packaging materials used were chitosan/gelatin/clay polymer films in which sage, fennel, sea buckthorn nanoemulsions were incorporated. To carry out the experiments, the analysed meat was purchased from a chain of butchers in a store in Bucharest. For these experiments, chilled minced beef was chosen. Physical-chemical analyses were carried out on minced beef packed in chitosan/gelatin/clay polymeric films incorporated with nano-emulsions of sage, sea buckthorn, the control package being the polyethylene terephthalate casserole. The physical analyses performed during the experiments were: determination of free ammonia, water activity, colour analysis, analysis of dry matter and moisture content and determination of pH. The microbiological analyses consisted in determining the total plate count (NTC) and the presence of E. coli/coliform bacteria. Based on physical-chemical and microbiological analyses, both the freshness of the meat and its shelf life were determined, during seven days of storage (day 0, day 3, day 5 and day 7) at chilling temperature (4C). Following the results obtained in the physical-chemical analyses, we can state that there is a clear difference in the quality of the meat used in the experiments, during the storage period, depending on the packaging type used.
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