Effects of Herb-Infused Olive Oil Marination and Vacuum Packaging on Oxidative Stability, Texture, and Microbiological Dynamics of Broiler Breast Meat During Chilled Shelf Life

The effect of marination with an olive oil–rosemary–wild thyme composite marinade, applied with or without secondary packaging (open plate vs. overwrapped plate vs. vacuum-sealed pouch), on the quality of chicken breast during chilled storage at 0, 4, and 8 °C was investigated over a period of up to 18 days. Four treatments were evaluated: unmarinated control held on open trays (Control), marinated meat held on open trays (M), marinated meat packaged on polystyrene plates with overwrap film (MP), and marinated meat in vacuum-sealed pouches (MV). Weight loss, pH, instrumental color, aerobic and anaerobic microbial counts, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured only up to 12 days; texture profile analysis (TPA) and Warner–Bratzler shear force were analyzed for up to 18 days. Compared with the unmarinated control, composite marination significantly reduced MDA formation (p < 0.001), increased TAC (p < 0.001), and lowered hardness and shear force (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). Secondary packaging configurations significantly reduced anaerobic bacterial counts, and they had no significant main effect on total viable counts (TVC), with microbial populations exceeding standard spoilage thresholds by day 7 across all treatments. Consequently, under these conditions, the primary microbiological benefit of vacuum packaging was limited to reducing anaerobic counts rather than extending overall aerobic shelf life. While these findings demonstrate the efficacy of this integrated herbal-oil marination and packaging system on lipid stability and instrumental texture, the absence of specific pathogen and spoilage microbiota profiling highlights the need for targeted microbiological evaluations alongside single-variable, multi-arm trials.