Antimicrobial properties of clove essential oil on raw hamburger during storage in freezer

Providing safe foods resistant to pathogens as well as replacing chemical preservatives with natural compounds including essential oils has attracted great attention in current studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial properties of clove’s essential oil on hamburger. For this reason, clove essential oil was extracted by Clevenger apparatus method. Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger was measured. The antimicrobial effect of the essence in the concentrations of 0.0015%, 0.01%, 0.1% and 0.15% was examined on hamburger. The samples were examined at 0, 7, 30, 60 and 90 days of cold storage. Sensory characteristics of the samples were assessed through Hedonic method. MICs resulted from the test for S. aureus, E. coli, C. albicans and A. niger were 0.1%, 0.065%, 0.03% and 0.01% (V/V), respectively. The results of microbial examinations indicated that with the increasing of the concentration of clove oil essence and also with the progression of storage time, the microbial load was gradually decreased. According to the sensory assays conducted by the consumers, low concentrations of 0.0015% and maximum of 0.01% were found desirable.