Natural antimicrobials to prolong the shelf-life of minimally processed lamb’s lettuce

• Natural antimicrobials are an alternative to chlorine to guarantee lamb’s lettuce shelf-life.
• Samples treated with natural compounds had quality indexes similar to the controls.
• This approach represents a useful tool to produce minimally processed lamb’s lettuce.

Plant essential oils (EOs) and their components, generally recognized as safe and endowed with a wide antimicrobial activity, have been investigated in this paper as natural sanitizer alternatives to chlorine to control spoilage bacteria and naturally occurring pathogens associated with minimally processed vegetables. From this perspective, the efficacy of oregano and thyme EOs and carvacrol was evaluated in comparison with chlorine for lamb’s lettuce decontamination. Their effects were evaluated on mesophilic aerobic bacteria, yeasts, LAB, color parameters and volatile molecule profiles demonstrating the same efficacy of chlorine. A further optimization of the process highlighted that thyme and oregano EOs controlled minimally processed lamb’s lettuce spoilage microflora without negatively affecting the quality and sensory properties of the products. These results demonstrate the potential of washing treatments based on natural antimicrobials, as alternatives to chlorine for the sanitization of minimally processed vegetables.