Investigating the effect of edible coating based on Citrus paradise essential oil nanoemulsion and Lallemantia iberica seed mucilage on the microbial and chemical characteristics of lamb slices during storage period

In this study, the effect of edible coating based on Lallemantia iberica seed mucilage (LISM) with different contents (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2% vol/vol) of Citrus paradise essential oil nanoemulsion (CPN) was investigated on the microbial, chemical, and sensory qualities of lamb slices during cold storage. The antimicrobial results showed that at the end of the storage period, the lowest number of total viable bacteria (6.26 log CFU/g), psychrotrophic count (3.28 log CFU/g), Escherichia coli (0.95 log CFU/g), Staphylococcus aureus (0.87 log CFU/g) and fungi (1.12 log CFU/g) were observed in LISM+2% CPN sample. The highest and lowest pH at the end of the storage period were related to uncoated samples (6.42) and LISM+2%CPN (5.65). The amount of peroxide number and thiobarbituric acid in the control and LISM+2%CPN samples were 11.60 meq O2/kg and 1.20 mg MDA/kg and 5.40 meq O2/kg and 0.59 mg MDA/kg, respectively, after 9 days of cold storage. The meat color (L*, a*, b*) was also preserved by edible coating containing C. paradise essential oil nanoemulsion (LISM+CPN). The addition of nanoemulsion in edible coating increased sensory scores such as aroma, color, texture, and overall acceptance of lamb slices, especially on the last day of cold storage. The obtained results suggest the LISM+CPN edible coating as a solution for retarding the chemical and microbial spoilage of lamb slices.