Effects of combined soluble gas stabilization, modified atmosphere packaging and cold plasma on controlling chilled chicken breasts spoilage

The hurdle technology for food preservation effectively addresses the limitations of individual antimicrobial technologies by integrating their strengths. It can not only prolong the storage time of food but also maintains its high quality. In this study, three antimicrobial and bactericidal technologies, namely soluble gas stabilization (SGS), modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), and cold plasma (CP), were applied to chilled chicken breasts. The packaging, total viable count (TVC), and physicochemical properties of chilled chicken breasts after treatments and storage at 4 ℃ were monitored. The microbial diversity at the initial and end points of the storage time of each group was also analyzed. The results indicated that a 3-5 h SGS treatment can effectively increase the proportion of carbon dioxide in the MAP during the storage process of chilled chicken breasts, thereby alleviating the packaging collapse problem. Simultaneously, the effect of SGS, MAP, and CP combinational treatments significantly extended the storage time of chilled chicken breasts while maintaining the physicochemical qualities of samples. Compared to the control group, the TVC of chicken breast treated with SGS, MAP, and CP treatments decreased by 0.58 (lg(CFU/g)) at 0 day. The shelf life was extended by 5 days. After 8 days, the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) was 26.67 vs. 19.50 mg/100 g, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was 0.99 vs. 0.72 mg MDA/kg, and TVC was 8.22 vs. 6.52 (lg(CFU/g)). High-throughput sequencing results showed that SGS and MAP treatments significantly reduce the proportion of Pseudomonas and Psychrobacter, which are sensitive to carbon dioxide, in the total bacterial genera. This study underscores the potential of integrating multiple antimicrobial technologies for effective food preservation.