Application of an antimicrobial packaging material from chicken bone gelatine and cinnamon bark oil to mozzarella cheese

Abstract

Summary Chicken bones are mostly discarded even though they contain a considerable amount of proteins, which would allow them to be applicable as a protein film source. In this study, chicken bone gelatine ( CBG ) films were prepared and characterised after the addition of cinnamon bark oil ( CBO ) to confer antimicrobial activity. The incorporation of 1% CBO increased the tensile strength of the CBG film from 18.2 to 23.9 MP a, whereas elongation at break was decreased from 15.6% to 5.91% and water solubility from 88.9% to 62.2%. Antimicrobial activity of the CBG films against foodborne pathogens as well as their antioxidant activity increased with the increase in CBO concentration. When CBG film containing 1% CBO was used for wrapping mozzarella cheese inoculated with Listeria monocytogenes, the population of the bacterium decreased after 20 days in storage, indicating that CBG films can be applied for improving the microbiological safety of mozzarella cheese.