Effect of Cranberry Essential Oil on Quality Parameters of Chilled Minced Meat

Minced meat is a popular meat product found mainly in most types of meat meals as a source of animal-origin food. So, it has high economic worth due to its nutritive value. Owing to the high moisture content and richness in nitrogenous composites, it is an ideal medium for bacterial growth and contamination. Synthetic preservatives are used for extending the shelf life and enhancing quality properties of meat, but consumers are only recently considering them because of worries about potential health risks. Thus, using safe natural preservatives becomes an urgent necessity. The objective of the current study aimed to determine whether cranberry essential oil (CBEO) could improve the sensory, chemical, and microbial properties of raw minced beef while also extending its shelf life.60 minced beef samples were divided into 0.0 (control), 0. 5, 1, and 1.5% CBEO treated groups. The control and treated samples were kept at 3±1ºC in the refrigerator for 12 days. Minced beef samples’ sensory, chemical, and microbial properties were evaluated every three days. The results showed that CBEO addition significantly delayed the proliferation of aerobic plate counts, psychotrophic, Staphylococcal and Enterobacteriaceae bacterial counts and extended the shelf-life of the minced beef up to 12 days compared to the control group that was completely putrefied at the 6th day of storage. This study suggested that CBEO could be used as a natural preservative for chilled minced meat.