Extracts from pecan shells may be effective at protecting meats from Listeria growth, and could provide an all-natural, organic antimicrobial for meat processing, according to a new study published in the Journal of Food Science.
Researchers at University of Arkansas subjected unroasted and roasted organic pecan shells to solvent-free extraction to produce antimicrobials that were tested against Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes serotypes to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of antimicrobials. The effectiveness of pecan shell extracts were further tested using a poultry skin model system; the growth inhibition of the Listeria cells adhered onto the skin model were quantified.
The researchers found that the solvent-free extracts of pecan shells inhibited Listeria strains at MICs as low as 0.38%. The antimicrobial effectiveness tests on a poultry skin model exhibited nearly a 2 log reduction of the inoculated cocktail mix of Listeria strains when extracts of pecan shell powder were used. The extracts also produced greater than a 4 log reduction of the indigenous spoilage bacteria on the chicken skin.
The researchers concluded that “pecan shell extracts may prove to be very effective alternative antimicrobials against food pathogens and supplement the demand for effective natural antimicrobials for use in organic meat processing."
Prior research found organic acids could be used to reduce foodborne pathogens in chicken—infusing combinations of the acids into chicken breast meat greatly reduces E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium.
