Comparative antimicrobial efficacy of cinnamon, sage, and eucalyptus essential oils as natural preservatives in nitrate-free beef mortadella

Growing consumer demand for clean-label meat products and concerns over synthetic preservatives have intensified the search for natural alternatives to nitrates and nitrites in processed meats. This study evaluated the antimicrobial effectiveness of cinnamon, sage, and eucalyptus essential oils as natural preservatives in beef mortadella prepared without synthetic nitrates or nitrites. Using three independent 500 g batches of meat batter, 30 mortadella samples were divided equally into 10 treatment groups ( n = 3 per group, 50 g each), with essential oils added at three concentration levels: 0.65%, 1.0%, and 2.0% (v/w). A control sample refrigerated at 4 °C for 24 h served as baseline. All samples were stored under refrigeration at 4 °C for one year, after which total viable counts (TVC) were assessed to determine preservation efficacy. The control sample exhibited a TVC of 1.54 × 10 8 CFU/g, substantially exceeding typical acceptable levels for cooked meat products (generally less than 10 6 CFU/g). Among treated samples, cinnamon oil at 2.0% (v/w) demonstrated superior antimicrobial activity with the lowest TVC of 4.3 × 10 4 CFU/g. Sage and eucalyptus oils at 2.0% (v/w) yielded TVCs of 3.23 × 10 5 and 4.27 × 10 5 CFU/g, respectively. All essential oil treatments at the highest concentration maintained microbial loads well within established safety limits. These findings demonstrate that essential oils, particularly cinnamon, represent viable natural alternatives to synthetic preservatives in meat products, offering both food safety compliance and potential for clean-label product development in the meat processing industry.