The effect of edible coatings based on carboxymethyl cellulose containing thyme essential oil and thyme essential oil nanoliposomes on the microbial characteristics of chicken fillet

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-bidi-font-family: 'B Lotus'; color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: FA;">Active edible coatings containing antibacterial compounds offer a promising solution for extending the shelf life of chicken meat. This study aimed to investigate the effects of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-based edible coatings, incorporating thyme essential oil in both macro-structured and microencapsulated (nanoliposomal) forms, on the microbial characteristics of chicken fillet meat during refrigerated storage. Four types of chicken fillet samples were prepared: (1) CMC-based coatings, (2) CMC-based coatings with thyme essential oil encapsulated in nanoliposomes, (3) CMC-based coatings with macro-structured thyme essential oil, and (4) a control group. The samples were stored at 4&deg;C for 15 days and tested on days 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15 for total bacterial count, psychrophilic bacterial count, <em>Enterobacteriaceae</em> count, and <em>Lactobacillus</em> count. The results demonstrated that bacterial populations increased in all groups over time. However, the bacterial count was significantly lower in the samples with coatings containing thyme essential oil nanoliposomes compared to the other groups, including those with macro-structured thyme essential oil coatings (p &le; 0.05). Additionally, samples with coatings containing macro-structured thyme essential oil showed significantly lower bacterial counts than the control and CMC-coated samples (p &le; 0.05). No significant difference in bacterial counts was observed between the control and CMC-coated groups. In conclusion, CMC-based active edible coatings containing thyme essential oil nanoliposomes effectively extended the shelf life of raw chicken fillet meat, offering a safe and efficient solution for preserving the quality and safety of chicken meat during refrigerated storage.</span>