Development of antimicrobial bioaerogel based on Zataria multiflora essential oil to extending ground meat shelf life

Active packaging has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its ability to prolong the shelf life of food. This study used a novel bioaerogel composite consisting of Salep and cellulose derived from grape stalk waste as a carrier for loading and then gradually releasing essential oil during storage in active meat packaging. Then the characteristics of two types of aerogels including morphology, density, porosity, water vapor absorption capacity, and viscosity of their precursor hydrogel were investigated. A total of 99.5% of these compounds were identified in Zataria multiflora essential oil (ZMEO). X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis of cellulose and cellulose-Salep aerogels showed the crystalline structure of cellulose aerogel, with a thermal decomposition temperature of 350 °C. X-ray diffraction analysis of cellulose revealed three prominent peaks at 16°, 22°, and 34°, corresponding to the (110), (200), and (004) crystal planes, respectively. Then, different amounts of ZMEO were loaded on aerogels, and the minimum inhibitory dose (MID) of ZMEO in vapor phase on meat microbiota and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was reported as 256 (µL/Lheadspace). Application of cellulose and cellulose-Salep aerogels with 10 × MID ZMEO per liter headspace of meat package reduced 1.8 and 1.4 log10 CFU/g of total mesophilic bacteria, 2 and 1.6 log10 CFU/g of total psychrotrophic bacteria, and 1.4 and 0.8 log10 CFU/g of total coliform during the 9-day storage in the refrigerator compared to the control samples. Low-value byproducts from renewable resources can be used to produce bioaerogels for packaging applications. These bioaerogels offer cost-effective solution for antimicrobial and antioxidant food packaging.