Control microbial growth on fresh chicken meat using pinosylvin inclusion complexes based packaging absorbent pads

Fresh chicken is a potential source of human infection due to its high microbial load, making the issues regarding its microbiological safety, especially the control of Campylobacter spp., of paramount relevance. Pinosylvin has recently proved effective against this major food pathogen. In this work, we evaluated the efficacy of absorbent pads containing pinosylvin (PS) inclusion complexes (ICs) for the control of fresh chicken meat microbial contamination, focusing on its anti-Campylobacter activity. Coated pads were evaluated in vitro against C. jejuni, followed by in vivo testing in chicken exudates and meat, assessing their anti-Campylobacter activity as well as their efficacy in inhibiting poultry microbiota. Pads exhibited a bactericidal activity in liquid medium at a concentration of 0.08 mg/cm2. At 4 °C, pads with 0.4 mg PS/cm2 exhibited anti-Campylobacter activity in chicken fillets and exudates. Regarding spoilage bacteria, active coated pads were not able to reduce pseudomonads but caused reductions in LAB, psychrotrophs and total viable counts. The present work demonstrates that absorbent pads coated with pinosylvin inclusion complexes possess an efficient antimicrobial activity not only against C. jejuni but also against chicken spoilage bacteria, enabling the use of these active pads to control microbial growth in packaged chicken meat.