Celery (Apium graveolens) as a Natural Nitrite Alternative in Minced Meat Preservation

Nitrite is a key meat additive used in curing to enhance color, flavor, and inhibit microbial spore growth, but it poses health risks to consumers, making it essential to find safer, eco-friendly alternatives. Meat products provide an ideal environment for Staphylococcus aureus growth and toxin production, leading to tissue damage, nutrient absorption, and bacterial spread. Thus, our main goal was to investigate the antibacterial properties of nitrite, celery (Apium graveolens) extract, and their potential synergistic effect against S. aureus in preserved minced meat. S. aureus was detected in 22 fresh meat samples (44 %) with a mean count of 3.54 ± 0.52 log10 CFU/g. All S. aureus isolates carried the sea gene, and 66.6% harbored icaA and hla genes. Celery extract showed notable antibacterial activity, producing an 18 mm inhibition zone in the well diffusion test. Celery extract showed a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 512 µg/mL, while nitrite required over 1024 µg/mL. In S. aureus-inoculated minced meat, celery extract reduced bacterial count by 12%, nitrite by 9%, and their combination achieved a 16% reduction. Our study concluded that celery extract is a promising and safe natural alternative to synthetic nitrites, and both nitrite and celery extracts demonstrated synergistic antibacterial activity against S. aureus in meat.