Pork preservation by antimicrobial films based on potato starch (PS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and incorporated with clove essential oil (CLO) Pickering emulsion

Pickering emulsion (PE) containing clove essential oil (CLO) has been the subject of extensive study because of its superior slow-release, powerful antibacterial and biological capabilities of CLO. In the current work, we have prepared antimicrobial layers with potato starch (PS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with CLO Pickering emulsion (PEC) and applied them for pork meat preservation. The measured Zeta potential was −21.7 mV. The estimated droplets' diameter was 186 nm, the polydispersity index (PDI) was 0.104, and the encapsulation efficiency (EE) was 57.9%. These results proved that PEC was successfully synthesized, and the high EE value guaranteed the effective antimicrobial effectiveness of CLO. The PEC in PS/PVA matrices was dispersed uniformly. Their homogeneous and smooth structures were proved by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions assured the crystallinity of the films and decreased tensile strength (22.4–6.80 MPa) and elongation percentage (375.3%–91.6%). The moisture content, water absorption, water vapour permeability, opacity and colour difference of the antimicrobial films were 8.80%–10.5%, 38.6%–65.9%, 1.70–2.20 × 10−12 g cm/cm2·s·Pa, 3.32–8.95 A/mm and 5.06–7.15, respectively. It is revealed that the antimicrobial layers had excellent dissolution stability and percentage of CLO release rate stability. We applied them for pork preservation, founding they assured a prolonged preservation period (10 days) and showed more potent inhibition of Escherichia coli than Staphylococcus aureus. The antimicrobial films incorporation of PEC exhibited excellent potential in application of pork preservation.