Effect of pomegranate based marinades on the microbiological, chemical and sensory quality of chicken meat: A metabolomics approach

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2017.12.023Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Pomegranate juice is a promising ingredient to prolong shelf life of chicken meat.

  • Marinated chicken had a different profile of VOCs and organic acids compared to control samples.

  • Organic acids and VOCs profile was based on storage time, sensory scores and microbial counts.

  • Metabolomics can provide useful information to characterize the type of spoilage.

Abstract

Pomegranate juice is a product with enhanced functional properties that could be used as an alternative to traditional marination ingredients and effectively retard microbial growth along with providing an improved sensory result. In this study, two pomegranate based marinades were prepared for the marination of chicken breast fillets and the marinated samples were aerobically stored at 4 and 10 °C for 9 days. Raw, non-marinated chicken samples were used as control. Levels of total viable counts (TVC), Pseudomonas spp., Brochothrix thermosphacta, Enterobacteriaceae and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were determined together with sensory assessment to evaluate the evolution of spoilage. The profile of organic acids and volatile compounds was also analyzed during storage. The shelf life of marinated samples was significantly extended compared to control samples at both storage temperatures (e.g., up to 5 and 6 days for the pomegranate/lemon marinated samples stored at 4 and 10 °C, respectively) as evaluated by both microbiological and sensory analyses. The profile of the organic acids and the volatilome of marinated and control samples were remarkably differentiated according to storage time, microbial load and sensory score. The findings of this study suggest that pomegranate juice could be used as a novel ingredient in marinades to improve the sensory attributes, while prolonging the shelf life of chicken meat.

Introduction

In recent years, the chicken meat industry is steadily focusing on the development of new products that contribute significantly to the increasing global demand for poultry meat (FAO, 2016). These products, among other, involve the use of seasoned liquids to improve the flavor, tenderness, or texture of chicken meat. Various solutions can be added to poultries by several methods, such as injection, brining, or marinating (USDA, 2013). The marination process of chicken meat has become an important segment of the poultry industry because of the increased demand from consumers, institutional food services, and restaurants for ready-to-cook and convenience products. One issue that has already been reported regarding marinades and especially acidic ones, arises from the fact that a marinade with a relatively high pH (> 4.5), that may otherwise positively affect the overall sensory quality of the end product, is not efficient to adequately retard the growth of spoilage microorganisms, whereas a lower pH marinade that has a remarkable effect on the evolution of the microbial growth, could lead to degraded meat products from the sensory and nutritional viewpoint (Ke et al., 2009, Sharedeh et al., 2015, Yusop et al., 2010). Considering all the above, research should focus on the incorporation of novel ingredients that could conduce to the improvement of microbial, sensory and nutritional quality of meat products. The pomegranate juice could be a promising ingredient that covers the above mentioned criteria, since its content in organic acids, sugars and phenolic compounds renders a product of high nutritional value, with antimicrobial efficacy, antioxidant activity and desirable sensory attributes (Al-Zoreky, 2009, Maskan, 2006, Türkyılmaz et al., 2013). Moreover, the process of marination can cause alterations in the physicochemical profile of meat resulting in a shift in spoilage microorganisms that could possibly delay spoilage (Gram et al., 2002, Schirmer et al., 2009). This different profile can be determined by monitoring changes in metabolite composition occurring during processing and storage. Therefore, metabolite analysis - through the determination of organic acids and volatile organic compounds – plays a critical role in acquiring a detailed view of the whole physicochemical status, the evolution of the indigenous microbiota and the characterization of the type of spoilage in marinated and non-marinated meat. Thus, the objectives of this study were the evaluation of the effect of pomegranate juice based marinades on: (a) the microbial growth, (b) the sensory characteristics, and (c) the organic acids and volatile compounds profile of chicken breast fillets stored aerobically at 4 and 10 °C.

Section snippets

Sample preparation

Fresh skinless chicken breast fillets were obtained from a local meat market and transferred to the laboratory under refrigeration within 30 min. They were subsequently cut into 10 g pieces (2 × 4 × 1 cm) with a sterilized knife and placed into polypropylene trays. For the marination of the samples two different marinades were prepared. The first contained commercially available 100% natural pomegranate juice as the main ingredient while for the second a combination of pomegranate and lemon juice was

Evolution of the microbial association during storage

The change of the indigenous microorganisms of marinated and non-marinated samples is presented in Fig. 1. Both marinades were efficient in inhibiting microbial growth on chicken samples. In the case of PL samples, a significant decrease of 2.4 log CFU/g in TVC was recorded right after the marination process, while counts of total aerobes did not exceed 5.0 and 6.5 log CFU/g after 9 days of storage at 4 and 10 °C, respectively. Pseudomonas spp. was the dominant microbial group in both the control and

Discussion

In this study, the potential of pomegranate juice as a novel ingredient in marinated chicken meat was investigated. From the microbiological perspective, the antimicrobial substances contained in pomegranate and lemon juice - such as organic acids and polyphenols (Bagci, 2014, Gundogdu and Yilmaz, 2012) were responsible for the inhibition of microbial growth. The pH reduction - caused by organic acids (citric, tartaric, malic, succinic, etc.) - was the primary factor that affected the survival

Conclusion

Pomegranate based marinades were effective in delaying the spoilage of chicken meat and improving the sensory characteristics. The inhibition of specific spoilers such as pseudomonads and B. thermosphacta led to the absence or to reduced production of volatile compounds and organic acids that can cause off-odors that are typical of an undesirable and degraded product. Metabolomics as well as conventional methods such as microbiological analysis and sensory assessment contributed effectively to

Acknowledgements

The action THALIS: “Development, mathematical modeling and optional design of non-thermal technologies for processing, packaging, distribution and storage of safe high quality food products”, has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund - ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program “Education and Lifelong Learning” of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: THALES: Reinforcement of the interdisciplinary and/or

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