Non-contact preservation of chilled chicken: extending shelf life and modulating microbial dynamics using solid spice essential oils and modified atmosphere packaging

Non-contact preservation of meat remains a challenging and active area of research in the food industry. In this study, a non-contact solid spice essential oils preservative (SSEP) was developed and combined with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP, 30 % CO 2  + 70 % N 2 ) for the preservation of chilled fresh chicken. The results showed that SSEP, with essential oils (EOs) loading capacity of 29.49 % (rosemary: cinnamon = 1:1, w/w), exhibited significant antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli . Storage tests demonstrated that the combination of SSEP and MAP effectively delayed spoilage of chicken breast samples, as evidenced by a decrease in total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), total viable count (TVC), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) by 16.19 %, 32.21 % and 21.28 %, respectively, compared to the MAP-only group after 14 days of storage. High-throughput sequencing revealed that Pseudomonas spp. was the predominant bacteria in control group, while Carnobacterium spp., Serratia spp. and Lactococcus spp. were the predominant bacteria in MAP group. The combination of SSEP and MAP significantly reduced the relative abundance of spoilage bacteria and extended the shelf life by inhibiting the growth of Pseudomonas spp., Carnobacterium spp., Serratia spp. and Lactococcus spp. These findings propose a promising approach for non-contact meat preservation, enhancing the safety and quality of poultry products during refrigerated storage.