Enhancing the Shelf Life of Sous-Vide Red Deer Meat with <i>Piper nigrum</i> Essential Oil: A Study on Antimicrobial Efficacy against <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>
Miroslava Kačániová,
Natália Čmiková,
Zhaojun Ban,
Stefania Garzoli,
Joel Horacio Elizondo-Luevano,
Anis Ben Hsouna,
Rania Ben Saad,
Alessandro Bianchi,
Francesca Venturi,
Maciej Ireneusz Kluz,
Peter Haščík
Affiliations
Miroslava Kačániová
Institute of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Natália Čmiková
Institute of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture, Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Zhaojun Ban
Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical and Biological Processing Technology of Farm Products, Zhejiang Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center of Agricultural Biological Resources Biochemical Manufacturing, School of Biological and Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou 310023, China
Stefania Garzoli
Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drug, Sapienza University, P. le Aldo Moro, 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Joel Horacio Elizondo-Luevano
Faculty of Agronomy, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Av. Francisco Villa S/N, Col. Ex Hacienda el Canadá, General Escobedo, Nuevo León 66050, Mexico
Anis Ben Hsouna
Laboratory of Biotechnology and Plant Improvement, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P “1177”, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Rania Ben Saad
Laboratory of Biotechnology and Plant Improvement, Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P “1177”, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Alessandro Bianchi
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Francesca Venturi
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Maciej Ireneusz Kluz
School of Medical & Health Sciences, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw, Okopowa 59, 01043 Warszawa, Poland
Peter Haščík
Institute of Food Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture, Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia
Using sous-vide technology in combination with essential oils offers the potential to extend the preservation of food items while preserving their original quality. This method aligns with the growing consumer demand for safer and healthier food production practices. This study aimed to assess the suitability of minimal processing of game meat and the effectiveness of vacuum packaging in combination with Piper nigrum essential oil (PNEO) treatment to preserve red deer meat samples inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes. Microbial analyses, including total viable count (TVC) for 48 h at 30 °C, coliform bacteria (CB) for 24 h at 37 °C, and L. monocytogenes count for 24 h at 37 °C, were conducted. The cooking temperature of the sous-vide was from 50 to 65 °C and the cooking time from 5 to 20 min. Additionally, the study monitored the representation of microorganism species identified through mass spectrometry. The microbiological quality of red deer meat processed using the sous-vide method was monitored over 14 days of storage at 4 °C. The results indicated that the TVC, CB, and L. monocytogenes counts decreased with the temperature and processing time of the sous-vide method. The lowest counts of individual microorganism groups were observed in samples treated with 1% PNEO. The analysis revealed that PNEO, in combination with the sous-vide method, effectively reduced L. monocytogenes counts and extended the shelf life of red deer meat. Kocuria salsicia, Pseudomonas taetrolens, and Pseudomonas fragi were the most frequently isolated microorganism species during the 14-day period of red deer meat storage prepared using the sous-vide method.
