Studies on the potential application of various blends of essential oils as antioxidant and antimicrobial preservatives in emulsion based chicken sausages

PurposeOxidative rancidity is a major problem in chicken meat because of its higher content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Besides this, microbial contamination is also one of the major problems of chicken meat which leads to deterioration in quality during storage. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate anti-microbial and anti-oxidant effects of various blends of essential oils (EOs) on the quality of emulsion-based (ready-to-eat) chicken sausages.Design/methodology/approachSausages were incorporated with optimum level of four different blends of EOs containing six different EOs (Clove oil, Holybasil oil, Thyme oil, Cassia oil, Ajowan oil and Beetel oil), namely, Blend-1 (0.25 per cent), Blend-2 (0.25 per cent), Blend-3 (0.25 per cent) and Blend-4 (0.125 per cent); vacuum packaged and stored at −18±1°C for 60 days. Duplicate samples were taken for each parameter, and three trials were conducted for each experiment, total being six observations (n=6) for consistency of the results.FindingsSignificant decrease (ppppppPractical implicationsThe work under this study would be very useful for the meat processing industries dealing with the perishable meat products. Use of natural anti-oxidants will also restore faith towards the consumers who are becoming more health conscious day by day.Originality/valueThe research work is original.