Reduction in Spoilage Microbiota and Cyclopiazonic Acid Mycotoxin with Chestnut Extract Enriched Chitosan Packaging: Stability of Inoculated Gouda Cheese

Abstract

Active chitosan-based films, blended with fibrous chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) tannin-rich extract were used to pack Gouda cheese that has been contaminated with spoilage microflora Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli, and fungi Penicillium commune. A comprehensive experimental plan including active chitosan-based films with (i) chestnut extract (CE), (ii) tannic acid (TA), and (iii) without additives was applied to evaluate the film′s effect on induced microbiological spoilage reduction and chemical indices of commercial Gouda cheese during 37 days while stored at 4 °C and 25 °C, respectively. The cheese underwent microbiology analysis and chemical assessments of ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) (cyclopiazonic acid), pH, and moisture content. The biopackaging used for packing cheese was characterized by mechanical properties before food packaging and analyzed with the same chemical analysis. The cheese microbiology showed that the bacterial counts were most efficiently decreased by the film without additives. However, active films with CE and TA were more effective as they did not break down around the cheese and showed protective properties against mycotoxin, moisture loss, and pH changes. Films themselves, when next to high-fat content food, changed their pH to less acidic, acted as absorbers, and degraded without plant-derived additives.

Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Biofoil Based on Chitosan and Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica, Houtt.) Rhizome Bark Extract

“…This could be related to the chemical composition of the extract, as chestnut extract may have a higher fiber content (prone to clumping from certain concentrations) than JKRB and, certainly, to the different extraction procedures, which implies variability in the particle sizes of the dry extract powder. Other studies [ 35 , 56 ] affirm uniform preparation on a lab scale, thus supporting previous statements. It was impossible to pinpoint exactly how the authors of the Ref.…”

“…In comparison to neat polylactic acid foils, a biofoil is considered to have good performance when its tensile strength varies between 24.8 and 70.2 MPa [ 62 ], depending on the application (more for food packages and less for medical scaffolds). Relative to the chitosan (blank) biofoil, the JKRB biofoil with incorporated extract in a concentration of 0.01 mg mL −1 (1%) did not display outstanding performance with regard to tensile strength, only increasing it by up to 1.81 MPa, which was much lower than that achieved using chestnut extract (0.01 mg mL −1 , 15.6 MPa) [ 35 ] or curcumin extract (0.08 mg mL −1 , 18.8 MPa) [ 63 ].…”

“…On the other hand, JKRB incorporation into the biofoil decreased the elongation at break down to 27.7%, making the biofoil stretchy enough, which is important for food packaging intended for heavier products (e.g., meat or cheese). Previously, it was shown that a biofoil (1% tannic acid: chitosan, 144 cm 2 ) suitable to pack 22 g of cheese should have an elongation at break of approximately 28.5% to withhold without breaking apart [ 35 ], and JKRB biofoil corresponds to this result. A recent reference has shown this value to be 57.0% to prepare a high-performance scaffold [ 64 ], while this parameter could ideally be lower.…”

“…The preparation of the film-forming solutions (FFSs) for the biofoil formulation and the testing of their physicochemical properties was conducted in accordance with the protocol described in the literature [ 35 ]. Chitosan (1.5%, w/v ) and glycerol (plasticizer; in 30% according to the mass of chitosan) were completely dissolved in aqueous lactic acid (1.0%, v/v ) and stirred on a magnetic stirrer (IKA, Staufen, Germany) at 1000 min −1 at room temperature (24 °C) until the homogeneity of the suspension was achieved.…”

Functional Nanocellulose, Alginate and Chitosan Nanocomposites Designed as Active Film Packaging Materials

“…Recently, many studies have shown that the incorporation of cellulose nanomaterials as an additive could improve the performance of the food packaging films [ 20 , 21 , 22 ]. Further advances in nanocellulose research in biopolymers film are quite promising for active packaging applications, including the controlled release packaging and responsive packaging [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”