1. Photovoltaic, Geothermal,
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and energy requalification.
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ENLIGHTENED
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ISSN2239-6047
3june
2013
Mycotoxin levels in cereals and derivates for milling and baking • Phytosterols
and phytostanols, new assessments on their beneficial effects • Bakery sector,
beta-glucans and other nutraceuticals • Strategies for acrylamide reduction •
Meat-based foodstuffs, use of natural antimicrobials and antioxidants

2. 20 june 2013
MEAT g by Flavio Gibilras
Meat-based foodstuffs, use of natural
antimicrobials and antioxidants
It’s impossible to ensure the shelf-
life of meat-based products without
using additives such as preservatives,
stabilizers and antioxidants. An
alternative, though, is to exploit
the preservative, antimicrobial and
antioxidant properties owned by
numerous natural substances. And
consumers appreciate
and a well-compatible organoleptic profile or even improving the
product itself, as in the case of spices such as rosemary or pep-
per, particularly suitable to be added to meat products. Moreover
these substances often have the status of GRAS (Generally Rec-
ognized As Safe), so their use should not be subject to specific
quantitative limits. The possible natural substances applicable to
meat products include:
• Essential oils from aromatic plants. Plants rich in essential oils
such as marjoram and rosemary were used on meat products
(200 mg/kg), and showed not only antimicrobial properties and
organoleptic improvement of the product, but also stabilization
of lipids contained in the meat itself[1]
. Moreover, the tested meat
product consisted of mechanically separated meat, particularly
sensitive, because of the production technology through which it
is obtained, rapid microbiological and organoleptic degeneration.
A
き
A
lways more frequently, consumers look for clean la-
bel foodstuffs, i.e. whose label is simple, easy to un-
derstand, consisting of “genuine” ingredients with-
out “synthetic” additives. Many food industries are
therefore increasingly aimed at meeting this grow-
ing need, although often this doesn’t meet other equally heartfelt
needs by consumers such as long shelf life and always impecca-
ble organoleptic characteristics. As a matter of fact, it is almost
impossible to ensure foodstuff’s good shelf life, especially perish-
able food like meat, without using additives such as preserva-
tives, stabilizers, antioxidants, etc. A good strategy is to exploit
the preservative, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties owned
by numerous natural substances whose presence on the label will
be then perceived positively by consumers. Often these are sub-
stances that have positive action on the shelf life of the product

3. 21june 2013
Among the most commonly used spices to preserve and flavor
cold cuts we must mention pepper (Piper nigrum). Two substanc-
es extracted from pepper, piperine and pepper acid, have both an-
timicrobial and antioxidant power[2]
. Other essential oils with an-
timicrobial and antioxidant properties, already used successfully
to prolong the shelf life of meat products, are those obtained from
citrus fruits (mainly lemons), oregano and thyme (both are rich
in carvacrol, phenolic monoterpene with renowned antioxidant
power), sage, garlic, mustard, basil, mint, green tea, and numer-
ous other “spices”. In fact the use of spices to improve the shelf
life of meat and cold cuts has been renowned and adopted for
centuries, long before knowing the active principles responsible
for such positive effects.
• Tomato concentrate. The addition of tomato concentrate to mor-
tadella’s dough improves its stability (particularly slowing lipid
oxidation) and duration of its shelf life, thanks to lycopene antiox-
idant, of which tomato concentrate is rich. Moreover no adverse
effects have been noticed (with concentrations varying from 2 to
10%) on the product’s organoleptic characteristics such as color,
smell, taste, texture and appreciation by consumers[3]
. For its color,
texture and flavor, tomato concentrate is promising also for vari-
ous applications on other cold cuts and meat-based products, es-
pecially those that require the addition of red coloring.
• Lactic bacteria, lactic acid and bacteriocins. Lactic bacteria have
shown adverse effects towards various pathogenic bacteria. In a
recent survey, some strains of lactic bacteria were inoculated to-
gether with Listeria monocytogenes in sausages, causing them
logarithmic reduction compared to control (sausages with Listeria
but without lactic bacteria) after 8 weeks of refrigerated storage.
A very good inhibitory effect was also obtained by adding to the
sausage’s mix an extract from cultures of lactic bacteria free from
cells but rich in lactate and diacetate. It is also possible to con-
temporarily use lactic acid and lactic bacteria cultures, since the
latter are not inhibited by this substance and by its low pH[4]
. In
addition to lactic acid, some strains of lactic bacteria are able to
produce bacteriocins, natural protein substances with real antimi-
crobial power that may have interesting applications as food pre-
servatives[5]
. Nisin is perhaps the most popular substance among
bacteriocins, for some time approved for many applications in
the food industry.
A further option is represented by the possibility of incorporat-
ing the natural antimicrobial and antioxidant substances not in
the food, but in its packaging. In this way the sensory impact on
foodstuff would be mitigated, without reducing the substance’s
preservative power. Packages may release substances to food in
different ways: they may be present within specific emitting de-
vices, or be incorporated directly into the plastic film that forms
the packaging and from which they are released under control.
These special packages are part of the active packaging world,
i.e. packaging that is able to change favorably the characteristics
and shelf life of the food it contains, e.g. extending its shelf life
through release or vice versa absorption of substances, resulting
in microbial proliferation prevention. The “interactions” of active
packaging with the food must be such that it mustn’t deliberately
mask the possible decay of the product. Active packaging is regu-
lated at European level, together with intelligent ones, not only by
“framework” Regulation for food packaging safety (n. 1935/2004)
and by Regulation No. 10/2011 dedicated to plastics, but also spe-
cifically by Regulation 450/2009. Although active packaging is still
not widely known on the market (in particular in our country),
because of its high cost and the general distrust not only by con-
sumers but also by food industries, research is alive and evolving.
Applications that use it to release towards the foodstuff natural
substances with preservative and stabilizing effect are those that
are currently enjoying greater success.
References
1. Mohamed H.M.H., Mansour H.A., 2012. Incorporating es-
sential oils of marjoram and rosemary in the formulation of
beef patties manufactured with mechanically deboned poult-
ry meat to improve the lipid stability and sensory attributes.
LWT - Food Science and Technology, 45(1):79-87
2. Zarai Z. et al., 2013. Antioxidant and antimicrobial acti-
vities of various solvent extracts, piperine and piperic acid
from Piper nigrum. LWT - Food Science and Technology,
50(2):634-641
3. Doménech-Asensi G. et al., 2013. Effect of the addition
of tomato paste on the nutritional and sensory properties of
mortadella. Meat Science, 93(2):213-219
4. Koo O.K. et al., 2012. Antimicrobial activity of lactic acid
bacteria against Listeria monocytogenes on frankfurters
formulated with and without lactate/diacetate. Meat Science,
92(4):533-537.
5. Zacharof M.P. and Lovitt R.W., 2012. Bacteriocins Produ-
ced by Lactic Acid Bacteria - a Review. APCBEE Proce-
dia, 2:50-56