Dados do Trabalho

Título

EFFECT OF ACTIVE PACKAGING APPLIED INTERFOLD ON THE OXIDATION OF SLICED BOLOGNA-TYPE MORTADELLA

Introdução

Active packaging technologies have been extensively investigated as potential allies in food preservation. However, there is still a lack of studies that understand its application in real systems to confirm its effectiveness in food matrices. Therefore, cellulose acetate (CA) films incorporated with garlic essential oil (GEO, in two concentrations: 0 and 1.5% w/w) were tested for their antioxidant capacity and impacts on the preservation of RTE fatty meat

Material e Métodos

The CA-film and CA-film GEO1.5 were applied as interfold packaging in sliced Bologna-style mortadella for 12 days of refrigerated storage. The evaluation over storage time was carried out using the thiobarbituric acid index (TBARS), acidity index, pH and color.

Resultados e Discussão

The results of TBARS and color (L*, C* and h*) showed behavior opposite to that expected: the active CA-film GEO1.5 showed a significant pro-oxidant effect (0.70 mg MDA.kg-1 of mortadella), compared to CA-film (0.55 mg MDA.kg-1 of mortadella), and negative control (NC) (0.56 mg MDA.kg-1 of mortadella), reaching 0.94 mg MDA.kg-1 of product, almost oxidation limit for meat products on the 12th day. The Lightness values (L*) reduced and hue angle values (h*) increased with the application of both the films on the product when compared to the NC (without film) (p<0.05). C* values were lower for CA-film GEO 1.5 during the entire storage period, when compared to the NC and CA-film (p<0.5), confirming the oxidative effect of the active packaging and time on a Bologna-type mortadella.

Conclusão

The GEO pro-oxidative effect found in this study can be justified by the fact that the same oxidative mechanism responsible for microorganisms’ inactivation, such as alteration in the cell membrane permeability incurred by lipophilic compounds, protein damage and generation of ROS, can interfere with food lipids, promoting an increase in the oxidative processes, even in considerably low concentrations (i.e., 1.5 % w/w, incorporated into the polymer matrix). These findings showed that CA films with the addition of GEO are not recommended as an antioxidant barrier for RTE fatty meat products, as they showed a pro-oxidant effect on sliced Bologna-type mortadella, reinforcing the need for more extensive testing of active packaging materials in real food systems.