Effect of edible gelatin- mint essential oil (Mentha spicata) coating on microbial, chemical and sensory characteristics of fresh chicken fillet during storage at 4 ℃

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of gelatin edible coating (4%) containing mint (Mentha spicata) essential oil (2%) on quality of chicken fillet during refrigerated storage (4o C). Samples were separated into three groups: uncoated (control), coated with gelatin and coated with gelatin contained mint essential oil (gelatin-mint). Samples were stored at refrigerator temperature for 21 days and microbial count (total aerobic mesophilic and psychrophilic bacterial counts), chemical properties (pH, total volatile nitrogen (TVN) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA)) and sensory characteristics (appearance, muscles elasticity, odor and color) were evaluated in 3 days interval. The results of bacterial analysis showed that coating with gelatin and gelatin-mint had significant effects on delaying the increase trend of psychrophilic and mesophilic bacterial counts as compared to control. Chemically, gelatin-mint treatment showed lower TBA, TVN and pH values ​​than the other two groups during storage (P <0.001). Also, the gelatin and gelatin-mint treatments maintained sensorial factors at acceptable levels for 6 days. Based on the results of the present study, gelatin coating did not have the ability to extend the shelf life of chicken fillets, on the basis of our results, the gelatin- mint coating may be a promising technology for the control of undesirable microbial, chemical, and sensorial changes during chicken fillet storage.