Journal of Food: Microbiology, Safety & Hygiene
Open Access

Abstract

Effect of Rosemary Extract as an Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Agent on Chicken Breast Fillets

Haider Ali*, Kashif Nauman, Bilal Asghar, Muhammad Ali Haider, Maryam Qasmi

With the increase in awareness among meat consumers regarding the healthiness of products, the meat safety issue has come to the spotlight in recent years. Although the processor tried their best to market healthier and safer products to the consumers and that is the reason normally fresh chicken meat is marketed under refrigerated temperature. The research was conducted with the perspective of increasing the shelf life of chicken meat at refrigerating temperature and enhancing the attributes of preservation. However, the application of rosemary on chicken breast fillet proved to be an addition in the flavor of chicken meat which varies as per the sensory attributes of consumers. The microbial growth and lipid oxidation can be retarded by using antimicrobial and antioxidant agents in chicken and its products which can lead to maintaining the overall meat quality by enhancing shelf life and reducing putrefaction. The market purchased 24 chicken breast fillets were divided into four groups. Group one was kept as the control group and the other three groups were treated with different concentrations of rosemary (0.5%, 1%, and 1.5% respectively). All the treated and untreated samples were kept in the display chiller at 4°C. Sampling for TVC, pH, color, lipid oxidation, and sensory analysis was carried out on 0, 2, 4, 8, and 10 days of storage. The pH value of the breast fillets was recorded by using a meat-grade pH meter. Color determination was carried out by using a Minolta colorimeter. For sensory analysis, the breast fillets from each treatment were marinated and deep-fried till the core temperature reached 72°C. Sensory panelists looked for the odor and taste of rosemary extract treated and untreated samples. The data was analyzed through one-way ANOVA and factorial ANOVA using SPSS (version 25). The significant treatment means were compared using Duncan’s multiple range test at a significance level of P ≤ 0.05. Based on this study it can be concluded that the use of 1% and 1.5% rosemary extract spray improved the shelf life of fresh broiler meat by reducing bacterial count. However, the 1.5% rosemary extract reduces the bacterial count but imparts a strong odor in meat due to its aromatic characteristic.

Published Date: 2025-03-20; Received Date: 2023-09-21