A novel active food packaging film for shelf-life extension of minced beef meat

Practical applications In this study, effect of chitosan (CH) film enriched with cellulose nanoparticle (CN) separately and in combination with ethanolic propolis extract (EPE) on chemical (total volatile base nitrogen content, pH, protein carbonyl content, and peroxide value), microbial (total viable count, psychrotrophic bacteria, Pseudomonas spp., lactic acid bacteria, and Enterobacteriaceae) and sensory (odor, color, and overall acceptability) properties of minced beef meat during refrigerated storage for 14 days was evaluated. Final microbial population decreased approximately 1-5.5 log CFU/g in treated samples compared to control (p < .05). Films containing EPE 2%, EPE 2% + CN 2%, and EPE 2% + CN 1% showed a promising approach for delaying microbial growth as well as lipid and protein oxidation of minced beef meat. There were no negative impacts on sensory properties of samples packed with EPE 2%, EPE 2% + CN 2%, and EPE 2% + CN 1%. Meat is an important source of essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. It is extremely perishable due to high water content, pH, and availability of nutrients. The results of this study showed that minced beef meat's shelf life can be extended by 14 days using chitosan film containing ethanolic propolis extract (1 and 2%) separately and in combination with cellulose nanoparticle (1 and 2%). The synthesized designated films in our study are biodegradable, thus potential in modern active food packaging for the concern of food protection and environmental problems.