Whole-Cell Postbiotics: an Innovative Approach for Extending the Shelf Life and Controlling Major Foodborne Pathogens in Chicken Breast Fillets

The current research was designed to compare the physicochemical and antimicrobial properties of cell-free supernatant (CFS) and whole-cell postbiotic (WCP) and reveal the efficacy of WCP in combination with chitosan and thymol for extending the shelf life and inhibiting emerging foodborne pathogens in chicken breast fillets during storage at 4 °C. For this purpose, pH, organic acids, titratable acidity, antioxidant capacity assays (FRAP, ABTS, and DPPH), free amino acids (FAA), free fatty acids (FFA), total phenolic content, individual phenolics, color properties, and volatiles of CFS and WCP were compared. The levels of some organic acids, FAA, titratable acidity, and total phenolic content (TPC) of WCP were higher than CFS ( P