Biopolymer based film incorporated with essential oil as an activepackaging material in broiler breast meat

In this study, the properties of gelatin/carboxymethyl cellulose/chitosan-based multilayer bioactive films containing rosemary essential oil (Rosmarinus officinalis) and ZnO nanoparticles separately (AFRO, AFZnO) or combined (AFZnORO) were characterized. Film thickness, water content, swelling capacity, water solubility, water vapor permeability, opacity, light transmittance, L*, a* and b* color measurement and antioxidant capacity analyses were performed in order to determine the physical and barrier properties of the films. In the second phase of this thesis, a model meat study was designed to test the usability of bioactive films as packaging material in chicken breast meat. With that said, chicken meat sections were wrapped with bioactive films, placed on polystyrene foam plates, covered with cling film and stored at 4°C for 13 days. In addition to determining the chemical composition in chicken breast meat, total mesophilic aerobic bacteria (TMAB) count, pH and L*, a*, b* color values thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARM) value and sulfhydryl content were determined at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 days of storage. As a result of the film characterization analysis, it was observed that the addition of rosemary essential oil to the film composition increased the antioxidant capacity and opacity of the film and decreased the light transmittance (p<0.05). On the other hand, the addition of ZnO nanoparticles to the film structure resulted in a higher swelling capacity (p<0.05). One of the important outputs of the model meat study is the swelling of the bioactive film consisting of hydrophilic polymers by absorbing the water on the contact surface of the meat. The decrease in the moisture content of the meat resulted in fluctuation in the L*, a*and b* color values due to the dry surface formation. In terms of TMAB count, the longest storage time was determined in AFRO and AFZnORO groups (p<0.05). Similarly, TBARM value was lower (p<0.05) in these groups due to the use of rosemary essential oil.