Effect of potato starch-based antibacterial composite films with thyme oil microemulsion or microcapsule on shelf life of chilled meat

chilled meat is extremely susceptible to microbial contamination during processing and storage. Therefore, a new edible starch-based antibacterial composite film with thyme oil microemulsions(ME) or microcapsules(TMS) was prepared. The slow-release characteristic, bacteriostatic property and the preservation effect on chilled meat of the films were evaluated. The results showed that the cumulative release rates of composite films containing 5% microemulsion and 5% microcapsule were much less than the film containing 5% thyme oil. The antibacterial effect of film containing thyme oil microemulsion (ME-S) was stronger than that of film containing thyme oil microcapsule (TMS-S), but both of their antibacterial effect increased as the concentration increased. The overall fresh-keeping effect of composite films on chilled meat at 0–4 was blank < PE film <2.5% TMS-S <2.5% ME-S <5% ME-S <5% TMS-S. The shelf life of composite film containing 5% (v/v) microcapsules for chilled meat could reach about 14 days at 4, while the blank control group and the PE film group were 6 days and 10 days, respectively. The new antibacterial composite film provided a theoretical reference for the production process and practical application of thyme oil potato starch-based antibacterial composite film.