Essential oil application in the food sector

The increasing interest in reducing packaging wastes, considering that food packaging is a necessity, but its disposal is becoming a burgeoning problem. Food packaging alone contributes to almost 66% of total packaging wastes by volume in the world. On the other hand, consumers judge the food quality on the basis of appearance and freshness but also using their awareness of the environmental implications of packaging. Nowadays the application of edible films or coatings, from biodegradable materials or biopolymers, on food may reduce the package barrier requirements and incorporate natural bioactive compounds. Essentials oils (EOs) among the natural compounds have been extensively investigated in recent years because of their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Thanks to their active components EOs can be added directly to the food, incorporated into packaging material, or used in a separate emitter. EOs addition is a safe, sustainable and not expensive methods, because they are often used in very low percentage, that can enhance the shelf life while simultaneously retaining the quality attributes. An application was made as example, on potato slices packaged in sous vide bags in association with rosemary essential oil (REO), these approaches were confirmed as a good strategy for the quality preservation of sliced potatoes over refrigerated storage until 11 days. Results demonstrated that the presence of REO have no effect on the nutritional content of cooked samples, while sensory and microbiological data highlighted a good attitude of potato slices to be processed with the addition of REO and cooked in sous vide bags. All nutritional components studied were slightly reduced after sous vide cooking. The ascorbic acid (AsAc) as well as total polyphenol content (TPC) were well preserved after cooking, and the antioxidant activity (AA) calculated showed a loss mean value of 48% among cultivars, so we can conclude that sous vide cooked vegetables in comparison with boiled, steamed, or microwaved tubers retain nearly all their nutritive value. Analysis of nutritional characteristics after the application of edible coatings enriched with EOs should be improved.