Oxidation and microbial spoilage are the major factors affecting the quality and shelf life of meat and meat products. Phenolic compounds extracted from plants have antioxidant capacity and antibacterial properties. But their antibacterial mechanisms have not been clearly elaborated and a systematic review in this field is still lacking. Based on the classification of and the variability of the antibacterial activity of natural phenolic compounds, the possible antibacterial mechanism of phenolic compounds is summarized from the perspectives of the cell wall and membrane, biofilm formation and protein synthesis, and their application in the meat industry is reviewed. This paper is expected to provide a theoretical foundation for further research on the antibacterial mechanism of natural phenolic compounds and their application in meat production to extend the shelf life of meat and meat products.

In order to explore the pork spoilage potential of Pseudomonas fragi and the antibacterial mechanism of garlic essential oil, P. fragi was isolated from chilled pork under aerobic storage conditions and tested its spoilage capacity. The isolates with strong spoilage capacity were selected for further investigation. The antibacterial activity of garlic essential oil against the selected strains was evaluated by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and plotting the bacterial growth curve. Furthermore, the antibacterial mechanism was investigated by scanning electron microscopic (SEM) observation as well as measuring cell membrane permeability, bacterial motility and metabolic activity. The results showed that P. fragi could cause pork spoilage. Garlic essential oil exhibited a strong inhibitory effect against P. fragi derived from pork, with a MIC of 0.125 μL/mL. Garlic essential oil could disrupt the normal structural morphology of P. fragi, enhance the permeability of the cell membrane, and inhibit bacterial metabolic activity and mobility. The results from this study can provide a theoretical foundation for the application of garlic essential oil as a natural food preservative.