Effect of sodium alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose edible coating with epigallocatechin gallate on quality and shelf life of fresh pork

The active edible coatings were prepared by incorporating epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) into sodium alginate (SA) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) to investigate the effect of SA-CMC-EGCG coatings on quality and shelf life of fresh pork stored at 4 ± 1 °C for 7 days. The antioxidant effects against lipid oxidation (TBARS), total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) and antimicrobial activity against total viable counts (TVC) were analyzed. Besides, the changes in color parameters and sensory attributes of all pork samples were evaluated. The results showed that fresh pork coated with SA-CMC edible coating with EGCG had a significant inhibitory effect on its microbial growth (P < 0.05), lipid oxidation and TVB-N. SA-CMC-EGCG also increased the L* value and maintained a* value of pork during storage. Besides, the sensory scores of pork samples coated with SA-CMC-EGCG were significantly improved (P < 0.05). Therefore, using SA-CMC-EGCG edible coating could prevent decay and significantly increase the shelf life of fresh pork.