Antioxidant effect of an innovative active plastic film containing olive leaves extract on fresh pork meat and its evaluation by Raman spectroscopy

- A new multilayer packaging with olive leaf extract as antioxidant was developed.
- The olive leaf extract is anchored in the adhesive used to glue two LDPE layers.
- Oxidation of minced fresh meat packed with the new material is monitored by Raman and TBARS.
- Shelf life of fresh minced meat increases 2 days with the new antioxidant material.
- Olive leaf extract acts as free radical scavenger and prevents oxidation.

An antioxidant food packaging material was developed and applied to fresh minced pork meat. The material consists of a multilayer polyethylene film in which 4 different concentrations (2%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) of olive leaves (OL) extract were immobilized in an adhesive formula used to build the multilayer. The antioxidants were not in direct contact with the meat. The packaged meat was kept at 4 °C during 16 days and finally analyzed by two methods: Raman spectroscopy and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Raman demonstrated a higher sensitivity for antioxidant evaluation than TBARS. Color of fresh meat packaged with the active film was also measured to evaluate the shelf life of packaged meat. The results showed that active film containing natural antioxidants efficiently enhanced the stability of fresh meat against oxidation processes, thus being a promising way to extend the shelf life of fresh minced meat for about two days.