Combined effect of MAP and active compounds on fresh blue fish burger

The combined effects of three essential oils [thymol, lemon extract and grapefruit seed extract (GFSE)] and modified atmosphere packaging conditions (MAP) on quality retention of blue fish burgers was studied and discussed. In particular, samples were packaged in air and in three different gas mix compositions: 30:40:30 O-2:CO2:N-2, 50:50 O-2:CO2 and 5:95 O-2:CO2. During a 28-day storage period at 4 degrees C the nutritional, microbiological and sensorial quality of the packed products was assessed. The potential development of biogenic amines was also evaluated. The obtained results highlight the possibility to improve the microbial quality of blue fish burgers by using very small amount of thymol (110 ppm), GFSE (100 ppm) and lemon extract (120 ppm) in combination with MAP. Based primarily on microbiological results, the combined use of the tested natural preservatives and a packaging system characterized by a high CO2-concentration, was able to guarantee the microbial acceptability of fish burgers until the 28th day of storage at 4 degrees C. On the other hand, results from sensory analyses showed that sensorial quality was the sub-index that limited the burgers shelf life (to about 22-23 days), even if the proposed strategy was also effective in minimizing the sensory quality loss of the product having no effect on its nutritional quality. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.