Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Effects of Polyphenolic Extracts from Olive Mill Vegetation Water on Wild Boar Meat Patties

Game meats are particularly prone to oxidation and microbial spoilage due to their specific characteristics and the procedures required to obtain them. Various sustainable bioactive molecules derived from food industry by-products, such as olive mill wastewater, have the potential to enhance the stability and safety of game meats. The use of different levels of polyphenolic extracts from olive mill vegetation water, encapsulated through a freeze-drying process, was tested on wild boar meat patties as an antioxidant and antimicrobial. Two separate trials were performed. Trial 1 was carried out by adding different concentrations of polyphenolic extract (0, 1, and 2%) during the production of wild boar patties, and trial 2 by adding 1.5% salt and adding or not adding 2% polyphenolic extract. The first trial revealed antioxidant effects on the raw patties during storage time, both on colour (increasing in saturation index) and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (0.306, 0.268, and 0.254 mg MDA/kg after 5 days of storage in the control with 1% and 2% polyphenolic extract groups, respectively). Oxidation was also reduced during cold storage of cooked patties. Trial 1 also revealed a dose-dependent antimicrobial effect, mainly on <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> and <i>Pseudomonas</i> spp. Trial 2 confirmed that salt plus extract addition had an overall higher antimicrobial effect than when singularly added, but with a moderate increase in the hardness of the products.