Influence of the combination of cinnamon essential oil nanoemulsions and epsilon-polylysine on microbial community and quality of pork during refrigerated period and radio frequency cooking

Pork preservation and cooking are common processes in food production. This study analyzed the influence of cinnamon essential oil nanoemulsions (CEON), ε-polylysine (ε-PL) and CEON/ε-PL on microbial community and quality of pork during refrigerated storage and radio frequency (RF) cooking. Results showed that a stable CEON was prepared with soybean lecithin (oil: lecithin = 1:1 w/w). CEON and ε-PL inhibited the growth of total bacteria counts (TBC) of raw pork, and caused Salmonella reduction at refrigerated storage of 12 d. Photobacterium and Pseudomonas were dominant spoilage bacteria of raw pork during refrigerated period. The 0.25 % CEON and 0.125 % CEON + 0.25 % ε-PL had good antimicrobial effects against Photobacterium while 0.5 % ε-PL had a small effect. Pork treated by CEON and CEON/ε-PL had better freshness than control and ε-PL treated samples. RF cooking lowered cooking time compared to water bath cooking at 80 °C and a similar quality of cooked pork was observed. CEON/ε-PL promoted Salmonella and TBC inactivation during RF cooking. TVB-N content, pH, cooking loss and appearance of RF cooked pork were not influenced by the addition of CEON/ε-PL, but the odor was slightly affected. The hardness, springiness and chewiness were enhanced by the addition of CEON/ε-PL. The results revealed that CEON/ε-PL could be used in raw pork preservation and promote bacteria inactivation during RF cooking.