Edible coating made with ginger essential oil decreases microbial activity of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in cheese

Adding an edible coating made from ginger essential oil can help prolong the shelf life of kashar cheese, according to researchers from Ege University in Turkey. The study, published in CyTA – Journal of Food, investigated how the coat affects the microbiological and physicochemical properties of kashar cheese after different days in storage.

• To make the edible coating (WPIG) used in the study, researchers used a formulation of 1.5 percent (weight per volume, w/v) of sorbitol, 5 percent of whey protein isolate (WPI), 0.5 percent (w/v) of alginate, and 1.5 percent (w/v) ginger essential oil.
• Researchers introduced a level of 10⁶ colony forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL) of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus to kashar cheese samples to induce contamination.
• After the cheese samples were artificially contaminated, some were dipped into a coating solution of either WPIG or WPI and were stored for 30 days at 4 degrees Celsius.
• The team checked the physicochemical parameters of the cheese on the first, seventh, 15th and 30th days of storage. The team also checked the antimicrobial activity of each coating during this time.
• WPI exhibited water barrier properties; the addition of the ginger extract improved the coating.
• During storage, WPIG exhibited antimicrobial properties.

From the findings, researchers found bacteria levels in the control samples increased during storage, while those in the coated samples decreased.

Read the full text at this link.

Interested in the other benefits of ginger essential oil? Learn more at EssentialOils.news today.

Journal Reference:

Kavas N, Kavas G, Saygili D. USE OF GINGER ESSENTIAL OIL-FORTIFIED EDIBLE COATINGS IN KASHAR CHEESE AND ITS EFFECTS ON ESCHERICHIA COLIO157:H7 AND STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS. CyTA – Journal of Food. 2015;14(2):317–323. DOI: 10.1080/19476337.2015.1109001