Evaluation of the use of lactic acid bacteria and Thymus vulgaris essential oil on Suffolk and Ile de France lamb breed (MuscuIus gluteus) quality parameters

In the present study,Lactobacillus plantarum(LUHS135),Thymus vulgaris essential oil (0.1% v/v) and their combination were used to treatSuffolkandIle de Francelamb meat. Changes in the microbiological profile and physicochemical parameters of meat were evaluated after 24 h of treatment at 4 degrees C. Treatments resulted in significantly lower mould/yeast, total enterobacteria (by up to 45%) counts, water-holding capacity (by 21-63%) and cooking loss (by 17-35%) in all samples. Moisture content increased, on average, by 14.5% in theSuffolkmeat. Polyunsaturated fatty acid content increased after all treatments. Treatments and breed significantly affected the content of malondialdehyde and some biogenic amines. Sensory analysis showed that raw lamb meat colour was more acceptable after all treatments, while the odour acceptability was ranked highest after combined treatment. These findings suggest that the applied treatments could be used to improve microbiological safety and some quality characteristics and to increase the PUFA content of lamb meat.