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Combined effect of antimicrobial edible coatings with reduction of initial microbial load on the shelf‐life of fresh hake ( Merluccius merluccius ) medallions
Author(s) -
OteroTuárez Víctor,
CarriónGranda Ximena,
FernándezPan Idoya,
Fernández Teresa,
Maté Juan I.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of food science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.831
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1365-2621
pISSN - 0950-5423
DOI - 10.1111/ijfs.14003
Subject(s) - merluccius merluccius , food science , mesophile , antimicrobial , shelf life , psychrotrophic bacteria , hake , bacteria , bacterial growth , lactic acid , aeromonas , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery , genetics
Summary Two distinct strategies were combined to preserve fresh fish ( Merluccius merluccius) under refrigeration at 4 °C for 12 days: (i) the application of an antimicrobial edible coating enriched with oregano essential oil ( OEO ) or carvacrol ( CV ) and (ii) the reduction of initial microbial load by good handling practise and the use of sodium hypochlorite (Na OC l). The action of antimicrobial coatings alone retarded the growth of Enterobacteriaceae , lactic acid bacteria ( LAB ) and H 2 S producing bacteria on fish samples. The reduction of initial microbial load by itself only affected the evolution of LAB , but not the rest of the bacterial groups. When using both techniques combined, edible antimicrobial coatings were significantly more effective with additional and significant delays in the growth of mesophilic, psychrotrophic and Pseudomonas bacteria. Thus, the use of both strategies combined resulted in a reduction of the counts of all bacterial groups after 12 days of storage which ranged from 1.5 log and 8 log, in Pseudomonas and H 2 S producing bacteria, respectively. Moreover, no significant differences were observed when comparing the microbiological evolution of samples treated with OEO compared to those only treated with CV .