Effect of orange waste based nanobiocomposite film containing nettle essential oil and cellulose nanofiber on microbial and chemical characteristics of beef

Beef is considered the main source of dietary protein despite being perishable. In this regard, utilization of biodegradable films containing plant essential oils, as antimicrobial compounds, is one of the concepts to prolong the beef shelf life. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the effect of the biodegradable film based on orange waste powder (OWP) containing nettle essential oil (NEO) and cellulose nanofiber (CNF) to increase the shelf life of the refrigerated beef samples stored for 12 days. As well, beef samples were divided into three groups of uncovered (control), wrapped with the OWP-based film without essential oil and nanofiber and wrapped with OWP-base film containing 3% NEO and 6% CNF and the microbial (aerobic mesophilic count, psychrophilic count, and coliform count) and chemical (pH, thiobarbituric acid and volatile nitrogen bases) properties were evaluated at regular intervals (0, 4, 8 and 12days). According to the results, the beef sample wrapped with OWP-base film containing 3% NEO and 6% CNF showed the lowest growth rate of the mentioned bacteria after 12 days of storage; Moreover, the samples covered by the film containing NEO and CNF had lower levels of pH, thiobarbituric acid and volatile nitrogen bases values compared to the other two samples at 12th day of storage. The results of this study indicate that wrapping beef samples with an OWP-based nanobiocomposite film containing 3% NEO and 6% CNF could remarkably prolong its shelf life in refrigerated conditions.