Antimicrobial effects of modified chitosan based coating containing nanoemulsion of essential oils, modified atmosphere packaging and gamma irradiation against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium on green beans

- Carvacrol nanoemulsion (CN) had highest activity against Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium.
- CN was incorporated into modified chitosan (MC) as antimicrobial coating matrix.
- MC coating containing CN was active against two pathogens during green bean storage.
- Modified atmosphere packaging was not significant effect against two pathogens.
- Gamma irradiation could control the growth of two pathogens during green bean storage.

The antibacterial activity of modified chitosan-based coatings containing nanoemulsion of essential oils (EOs), gamma irradiation, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), alone or in combinations, against Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium was evaluated on inoculated green bean samples. Firstly, four different nanoemulsions, made of carvacrol, mandarin, bergamot and lemon Eos, respectively, were compared in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against the two bacteria evaluated in vitro using the micro-broth dilution method. Carvacrol nanoemulsion resulted to be the most effective antibacterial agent and was therefore selected to be incorporated into modified chitosan (MC) to form a bioactive coating. Secondly, the radiosensitivity of E. coli and S. Typhimurium to gamma irradiation was evaluated on inoculated green beans after coating deposition and MAP. Results showed that, without MAP, MC-based coating containing carvacrol nanoemulsion significantly increased the radiosensitization of E. coli and S. Typhimurium by 1.32-fold and 1.30-fold, respectively. Remarkably, the use of bioactive coating under MAP caused a synergistic effect with an increase in radiosensitivity by 1.80-fold and 1.89-fold for E. coli and S. Typhimurium, respectively. Thirdly, the antibacterial effects of the antimicrobial coating, gamma irradiation, MAP alone and their combinations were evaluated against these two bacteria during a 13-days storage of green beans at 4 °C. Bioactive coating deposition or gamma irradiation treatment resulted effective in controlling the growth of the two bacteria during the entire shelf-life. Moreover, it was also found that the combined treatment of antimicrobial coating, gamma irradiation and MAP caused the reduction of microbial population to undetectable levels during the whole storage period for E. coli and from day 7 to the end of storage for S. Typhimurium. The obtained results can be interested to food companies aiming to ensure the food safety with a prolonged shelf life.