Active edible films based on green tea extract and gelatin for coating of fresh sausage

The objective of this work was to develop, characterize and evaluate the application of active edible films based on gelatin and green tea extract in coating of fresh sausages. The green tea extract showed IC50 of 0.088 mg/mL and minimum inhibitory concentrations of 0.05 mg/mL for Listeria monocytogenes, 0.025 mg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus, 0.04 mg/mL for Escherichia coli, and >1.0 mg/mL for Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis. The formulation with 15% (w/v) of gelatin and 30% (w/w) of glycerol showed better adhesion and appearance in the coating of the product. When using 1.0% of green tea extract, the lowest IC50, was obtained and the antioxidant activity was maintained for 35 days. There was a more accentuated decrease in pH and an increase in acidity and peroxide index in fresh sausages without film compared to those coated with the active film (1.0% of green tea extract) during storage. In addition, it was found that the use of active gelatin film (1.0% of green tea extract) kept the TBARS indexes of fresh sausage samples lower than the standard (without coating) and of films containing only gelatin, after 48 days of storage. •Active films based on gelatin and green tea extract were prepared.•Films of 15% gelatin, 30% glycerol and 1% green tea extract were applied to the coating of fresh sausages.•Sausages coated with active gelatin film showed lower levels of TBARS during cold storage.•Gelatin films with green tea extract are a promising alternative to increase the shelf life of sausages.