1. College of Food and Bioengineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450001, China; 2. Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing 314100, China; 3. Key Laboratory of Cold Chain Food Processing and Safety Control, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Abstract：This study aimed to investigate the preservation effect of carvacrol nanoemulsion (CN) combined with ε-polylysine hydrochloride (ε-PLH) on chilled pork. The optimum parameters for CN preparation were determined based on pseudoternary phase diagram, emulsion appearance, particle size, and particle size distribution. The effects of the combined application of CN and ε-PLH on the preservation of chilled pork were evaluated by determining the total bacterial count, Staphylococcus aureus count, pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value, textural characteristics, and sensory quality. The results showed that CN, composed of 26.18% carvacrol, 8.46% tween-80, 2.82% anhydrous ethanol, 62.54% ultrapure water by volume, had good stability, with a particle size of 41.91 nm, a polydispersion index of 0.23, and a zeta potential of ?38.27 mV. After 8 days of storage at 4 ℃, the total viable count, S. aureus count, pH, and TBARS value of chilled pork treated with 122.50 μg/mL CN combined with 200.00 μg/mL ε-PLH were significantly lower than those in each single treatment group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the sensory acceptability for odor, texture, and color was higher. Compared with the untreated group, the 122.50 μg/mL CN combined with 200.00 μg/mL ε-PLH treatment prolonged the shelf life of chilled pork to 8 days. This study demonstrated that CN combined with ε-PLH could effectively inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms and reduce the changes of physicochemical indexes during cold storage, thus effectively delaying the spoilage of chilled pork.
2025, Vol. 39 
