The effect of Thymus vulgaris and Thymbra spicata essential oils and/or extracts in pectin edible coating on the preservation of sliced bolognas.

The aim of this research was to determine the effect of pectin coating made with essential oils and/or extracts of Thymus vulgaris (thyme) and Thymbra spicata (thymbra) on the preservation of aerobically packaged sliced bolognas during cold storage. The treatment made with essential oils resulted in a reduction of 1.73 log CFU/g of Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028. Also, pectin coating made with essential oil-treated sliced bolognas had the lowest total mesophilic bacteria (6.27 log CFU/g), and total lactic acid bacteria (1.72 CFU/g), in comparison to non-treated bolognas, with 7.65 log CFU/g for total mesophilic bacteria and 4.99 log CFU/g for lactic acid bacteria. Application of an emulsion significantly (P < 0.05) affected L*(lightness), a*(redness), and b*(yellowness) values. The essential oil treatment had the highest TBARS values at the end of the storage period. The pH was not affected by the treatment (P > 0.05), but storage had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the pH values.