Conservation of sausages utilizing chitosan biofilm

Resumo

Use of biofilms in food enable increase of shelf life and ensure the conservation thereof. Chitosan has been used on obtainment of biofilms due its excellent properties of antimicrobial, antifungal, permeable and resistant film formation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the application effect of chitosan biofilms on conservation of sausages vacuum-packed or bulk packaging, stored at 10 °C for 10 days. For biofilm obtaining, chitosan (85% of deacetylation) was dissolved in acetic acid (0.5 mol L^-1), at concentrations of 1% (T1) and 2% (T2). Sausages produced in industrial line were coating with T1 and T2 to immersion, stored at vacuum-packed or bulk packaging, and compared to a control (T3, without coating). 

Microbiologic analyses to determination of total and thermotolerant coliforms, mesophilic aerobic count, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus, and molds and yeasts were carried out during the storage at 10 °C, at times of 0, 14, 21 and 28 days, in order to study the antimicrobial and antifungal behavior of biofilm on the sausage. The biofilm showed no inhibitory action for mesophilic aerobic in all samples during the storage period. In molds and yeasts analyses were no significant difference between the samples T1, T2 and T3, for the vacuum packed sausages, indicating that the biofilm chitosan showed antifungal properties in the studied conditions. Further, in yeast count was observed that T2 was more effective inhibition than T1. In all experimental conditions, the coagulase-positive Staphylococcus count, and determination of total and thermotolerant coliforms showed values lower than 2 CFU g^-1 and 0.3 MPN g^-1, respectively. Application of chitosan biofilms in sausages can result in antifungal effect when associated to vacuum packing.