Natural Preservatives Outperform Synthetics

A recent Ohio State University study has shown that grape seed and pine bark extracts controlled microbial contamination by E. coli and Salmonella better than butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in ground beef. The results were recently published in Food Microbiology (Vol. 24).

The researchers found that BHA and BHT decreased E. coli populations on the ground beef by 5%; the grape seed and pine bark extracts cut levels by 33% and 35%, respectively. And while BHA and BHT did not reduce Salmonella populations, the grape seed and pine bark extracts respectively dropped populations by 19% and 23%. However, Listeria populations increased in the meat in all samples to varying degrees. In the BHA and BHT sample, Listeria populations rose by 60%, grape seed extract by 40% and pine bark extract by 18%.

The study also showed that the natural antimicrobials prevented oxidation of the meat. Oxidation levels decreased over the course of nine days for the grape seed and pine bark extracts while measures increased by 200% for BHA and BHT. At the levels used in the study, the natural preservatives did not impact the organoleptic qualities of the meat and helped preserve its color. However, the researchers noted that at higher levels, the ingredients might have a negative effect of the organoleptic qualities of the meat. They cited a need for more research to see if that would be the case.

Grape seed extract and pine bark extract are attractive ingredients in that they also add healthful antioxidants to products.