Background: Recently, the use of bioactive packaging made with biodegradable materials has gained popularity for improving food safety and shelf life.
Objective: This particular study was aimed at understanding the impact of Polylactic Acid (PLA) films incorporated with Cuminum cyminum essential oil (CCEO) on the microbial, physical, antioxidant, and sensory properties of probiotic feta cheese during storage.
Method: After the preparation films and cheese, the samples were divided into four treatments: control, PLA film and PLA films with 0.5% and 1% CCEO.
Results: The presence of cumin aldehyde (31.15%), benzyl alcohol (19.03%), β-pinene (12.19%), and propanal (9.02%) was identified by GC-MS as major constituents of the CCEO. Lactobacillus acidophilus viability diminished over the 12-day storage period. However, application of films, especially those with CCEO, helped contribute to improved survival of the bacteria. CCEO films showed antimicrobial activity (growth inhibition zone) against selective foodborne pathogenic bacteria compared to pure PLA films. Overall, CCEO increased tensile strength, improved film transparency, increased water vapour permeability (moisture content) of the films, and had no significant effect on swelling index and film thickness. Antioxidant activity was concentration dependent with films containing 1% CCEO having the highest free radical scavenging activity (22.13%), significantly higher than 0.5% (10.34%) and pure PLA (5.05%) films. Sensory evaluation showed that cheese samples covered with CCEO films had the highest scores for aroma, flavor and overall acceptability.
Conclusion: It was concluded that, PLA films with incorporated CCEO may serve as bioactive packaging for probiotic dairy products as they improve the viability of probiotics, control the growth of undesirable microorganisms, improve the antioxidant and physical properties, and enhance the sensory properties.