Use of essential oils in order to prevent foodborne illnesses caused by pathogens in meat

Abstract

Although food industry has improved production techniques and slaughter hygiene, pathogens found in meat, such as Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. and E. coli still cause a number of foodborne illness outbreaks yearly all over the world. The overuse of antibiotics and disinfectants in both veterinary and human medicine practice has led to phenomenon of multi-drugresistance of bacteria, which highlights the research needs on new antimicrobial agents. One of the alternatives is use of essential oils, which are aromatic oily liquids obtained from plant material by different methods. It has been proved that essential oils exhibit variable antibacterial activity, depending on the type of bacteria as well as on the chemical composition of essential oil being used. Essential oils (Eos) have antioxidant role, and inhibitory role not only to pathogens, but also to the spoilage microorganisms, which subsequently affects quality and extends meat shelf-life in order to produce safer and healthier product.