Natural Preservatives in Poultry Meat Products

Natural Preservatives in Poultry Meat Products

Dr. Kashmiri Begum, PhD Scholar

Department of Poultry Science, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara-781022

Key Words: Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, Bacteriocin, Bacteriophages, Bioavailability, Endolysins, Essential Oil, Fermentation, Poultry, Preservation

Food waste is a growing problem despite its high economic cost. Meat wastage occurs all through the supply chain, be it at production, post-harvest handling and storage, processing and packaging, or consumption. So, food trade is becoming progressively more globalized. Food retailers and supermarkets therefore require products to maintain the desired visual appearance, smell and other quality elements on the supermarket shelf to reduce waste and improve economies of scale. Chicken meat is very popular in India because of its taste, health benefits and nutritional value followed by freedom from religious taboos, affordable price and easy availability. Preference for delicious, tasty, ready-to-eat (RTE) food products is also increasing because of changing life styles and the busy schedules of working people, high mobility groups and easy acceptability. Consumers are demanding for processed foods without synthetic preservatives to keep meat fresh and reduce waste. Using plant products as natural preservative or additive which are also expected to enrich their functional value. According to FSSAI “Preservative” means a substance which when added to food, is capable of inhibiting, retarding or arresting the process of fermentation, acidification or other decomposition of food.  There are two main classes of preservatives:

Class I: This class includes those food preservatives which are obtained from nature for example salt, sugar, vinegar, spices, edible oils etc.

Class II: Food preservatives which are chemical, semi synthetic or synthetic in nature such as sorbates, benzoates, sulfites, nitrites and nitrates of potassium, glycerides, glutamates etc.

Natural preservatives generally come from three sources: Plants, Microorganisms and Animals. In addition, various bio-active compounds extracted from algae, mushrooms also provide a potential source of new natural preservatives in the food industry. Natural preservatives are the customary preservatives that stops or delays the growth of bacteria or microbes in the meat or meat product for a specific time period. Herbs and spices possess broad spectrum active constituents that have antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic, and/or antiviral activities. Meat preservation technique is an old practiced. Earlier during 356 BC, the Vikings refrigerated food in ice and snow pits. In 589 BC, a fermented sausage consisting of goat and lamb meat was produced in China. Preservation of food by canning was patented by Nicolas Appert, a French Chemist in 1782. Sodium benzoate as a form of preservative in foods was given official sanction by USA in 1980. Application of irradiation in poultry was approved in the United States in the year 1990.

Function of Preservatives:

1. To increase or maintain nutritional value of food.
2. To boost quality and to reduce wastage in food.
3. To enhance consumer acceptability.
4. They inhibit the growth of microbes.
5. To extend the shelf life of processed foods.
6. To control foodborne infections and intoxications.
7. To reduce financial losses.

Antioxidants

Lipid oxidation is one of the key components that lower the shelf life of meat and meat products. The word ‘antioxidant’ means any substance that can either delay or prevent the oxidation of an oxidizable substrate. Retarding lipid oxidation, delay development of unpleasant-flavors, and improve color stability. Plant materials such as culinary herbs, spices, vegetables, as well as fruits and oilseed products is related to ascorbic acid (vitamin C), alpha tocopherol (vitamin E), beta-carotene (vitamin A precursor), numerous flavonoids, and other phenolic compounds.

Table: 1. Use of Fruit extracts as antioxidant in meat and meat products of Poultry.

Table:2. Use of herbs and spices extracts as antioxidant in meat and meat products of Poultry

Plant Essential oils (EOs)

Essential oils are volatile, liquid substances made from different parts of plants: roots, leaves, flowers, peel, fruits, etc. They are used in the food industry to give aromas and as preservatives, as well as in medicine. EOs are volatile mixture of compounds which have a strong odor made by aromatic plants as secondary metabolites. Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) at low concentrations antifungal, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. EOs are affected by numerous factors including pH, water activity, enzymes, temperature, relative humidity, and storage conditions. EOs have negative effects on sensory properties of food products. Nanoencapsulating EOs is one way to overcome these barriers. EOs are lipophilic compounds and, therefore, lipid- based systems mostly produce nanoscale EOs for food preservation purposes The techniques classified as-Lipid-based nanoparticles  and Polymer-based nanoparticles.

Advantages of Plant Essential oils (EOs)

• Stability and controlled release
• Bioavailability
• Reduces adverse impact on meat products’ organoleptic properties.

Table: 3. Essential oils used in Poultry meat products,

Table: 4.Natural Preservatives of Animal Origin

Meat Bio-preservation

It is the Prolonging the shelf life and food safety by natural or controlled microbiota or their antimicrobial components. Bio preservation of perishable vegetables is a native skill of Northeast Indian women.  The main Principles involved here is hindering the growth activity of the microorganisms and killing the microorganism in the food

Various methods of Bio Preservation –

• Fermentation
• Bacteriocin application
• Bacteriophages
• Endolysins

Fermentation: the starter culture for meat preservation should be GRAS, it should have antimicrobials activity, it should be limited in sensory changes, limited acid production, weak protease activity and limited gas production.

Bacteriocin application: Bioactive peptides or peptide complexes, having bactericidal or bacteriostatic activity. The most-studied bacteriocins in the meat and meat products is – Nisin (Lactobacillus lactis). Does not alter nutritional quality and is effective under wide pH & temperature range. Its activity is not lost on presence of other preservatives. It is effective in low concentrations. It have Broad spectrum of activity from food grade LAB(Lactic acid bacteria). Use of Nisin for more than 40 years in several countries.

Bacteriophages: Bacterial virus that infect the bacteria and reproduce by hijacking their host biosynthetic pathway. They are harmless to humans, animals and plants. FDA – Recently permitted safe use of a bacteriophage preparation as an anti-listerial agent in Ready To Eat (RTE) meat and poultry products. 0.1ppm concentration is sprayed directly on meat products prior to packaging at the level of 1 milliliter (ml)/500 cm2 surface area.

Endolysins: Endolysins , are hydrolytic enzymes produced by bacteriophages. Activity is broad spectrum by cleaving peptidoglycan linkage of bacterial membrane. It exhibits the antimicrobial activity at nano gram level.  Production cost is very high, because of genetically modified organism for the production.

Release of plant polyphenols from active edible coatings or packaging materials to foods in direct contact: Packaging materials prepared through edible biopolymers along with natural antimicrobials are good for making foods safer and of higher quality. Bioactive compounds can be incorporated on the external surface of the film, on the internal surface of the film, in the multilayers of the edible coatings and in different parts of the film. Examples – Zein, whey proteins, caseinates, soy proteins, chitosan, alginate, carrageenan, pullulan, pectin, cellulose, and its derivatives  These coatings and films can delay food spoilage due to their gas barrier properties, their intrinsic antimicrobial compounds added to their formulation. These films are biodegradability of these natural biopolymers and are environmentally friendly.

Health hazards caused by artificial Preservatives:

• Nitrates and Nitrites- carcinogenic, blue color of the skin.
• Benzoates- Trigger allergies such as skin rashes and asthma as well as brain damage.
• Fetal brain development may be adversely affected in pregnant women.
• Formaldehyde, hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea and imidazolidinyl urea are all potent irritant which can cause irritation on skin, eye and lung. High levels of exposure to these toxins can cause DNA damage of sperm.
• Headache, sweating, redness of skin, nausea and weakness can occur after consumption of food having monosodium glutamate (MSG).
• Caffeine is a colorant and flavorant that has diuretic, stimulant properties, cause nervousness, heart palpitations and occasionally heart defects.

Table: 5. Determination of Preservatives in food by different analytical methods

Health benefits of natural preservatives:

Preservatives like ascorbic acid have nutritive roles it is a powerful antioxidant and antimicrobial compound.  Ascorbic acid can both preserve foods and directly satisfy nutrient requirements. Health protected by decreasing the risk of food-borne illness caused by microorganisms. Sterols and stanols reduce the total cholesterol level, protection against certain types of cancer, anti-inflammatory activity and improve blood pressure. Lycopene (from tomatoes)—reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and protection against certain types of cancer. Isoflavones (from soy proteic concentrate)—reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease .Natural antioxidants are known to protect cells from damage induced by oxidative stress due to the production of free radicals, which are generally considered to be the cause of aging, degenerative diseases and cancer. LAB in fermented foods in addition to their antimicrobial activity produces probiotic health benefits. Chitosan acts as a fat binder and thereby helps to lose body weight. It is also shown to have beneficial effect on cholesterol, ulcers, osteoporosis and blood pressure.

Challenges and future research of plant antimicrobials:

Some plant extracts have flavors associated with them that may be a problem, therefore it is important to match the food and the plant extract flavor or understand the synergies to decide on the concentration used. The growing environment of the source plants influences the levels of antimicrobial compounds in them. The period of harvest, storage and extraction processes have direct effect on the levels of active components responsible for antimicrobial activity which could be a challenge in using it as a functional food ingredient. The greatest challenge that remains is consumer acceptability of various natural antimicrobials, such as herbs and essential oils. When applied at the concentrations needed to achieve the desired level of antimicrobial potency, these antimicrobials can adversely affect the organoleptic properties. Future studies should be done toward the investigating of new technologies.

Conclusion

Meat and meat products are excellent foods for delivering bioactive compounds without changing dietary habits. Natural preservatives offer greater advantages over their artificial counterparts due to their non-toxic nature along with a wide range of health benefits. Various plants, herbs present in nature with potential preservative actions in food systems are yet to be discovered. The dearth of systematic research and availability of relevant toxicology data is one of the limiting factors in their utilization. More thrust should be given on isolation, characterization, standardization of application and methods of bio preservation to evaluate their efficacy in extending their shelf life and improving their microbial aspects of meat safety. Future studies may be focused on the applicability of such systems to meat and meat products to replace chemical preservatives with natural preservatives, also as functional additive.

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