The antimicrobial effect of thyme essential oil, nisin, and their combination against Listeria monocytogenes in minced beef during refrigerated storage

The antimicrobial effect of thyme essential oil (EO) at 0.3%, 0.6%, or 0.9%, nisin at 500 or 1000 IU/g, and their combination against Listeria monocytogenes was examined in both tryptic soy broth (TSB) and minced beef meat. Thyme EO at 0.3% possessed a weak antibacterial activity against the pathogen in TSB, whereas at 0.9% showed unacceptable organoleptic properties in minced meat. Thus, only the level of 0.6% of EO was further examined against the pathogen in minced meat. Treatment of minced beef meat with nisin at 500 or 1000 IU/g showed antibacterial activity against L. monocytogenes, which was dependent on the concentration level of nisin and the strains used. Treatment of minced beef meat with EO at 0.6% showed stronger inhibitory activity against L. monocytogenes than treatment with nisin at 500 or 1000 IU/g. All treatments showed stronger inhibitory activity against the pathogens at 10 °C than at 4 °C. The combined addition of EO at 0.6% and nisin at 500 or 1000 IU/g showed a synergistic activity against the pathogen. Most efficient among treatments was the combination of EO at 0.6% with nisin at 1000 IU/g, which decreased the population of L. monocytogenes below the official limit of the European Union recently set at 2 log cfu/g, during storage at 4 °C.