Effects of Essential Oils on <i>Escherichia coli</i> Inactivation in Cheese as Described by Meta-Regression Modelling

Abstract

The growing intention to replace chemical food preservatives with plant-based antimicrobials that pose lower risks to human health has produced numerous studies describing the bactericidal properties of biopreservatives such as essential oils (EOs) in a variety of products, including cheese. This study aimed to perform a meta-analysis of literature data that could summarize the inactivation of Escherichia coli in cheese achieved by added EOs; and compare its inhibitory effectiveness by application method, antimicrobial concentration, and specific antimicrobials. After a systematic review, 362 observations on log reduction data and study characteristics were extracted from 16 studies. The meta-regression model suggested that pathogenic E. coli is more resistant to EO action than the non-pathogenic type (p p p p < 0.0001) the inhibitory effects of EOs.

Keywords

• biopreservation
• dairy
• antimicrobials
• mixed-effects model
• meta-analysis