EFFECT OF ESSENTIAL OILS ON AEROMONAS-HYDROPHILA IN A CULTURE-MEDIUM AND IN COOKED PORK

The inhibitory effects of essential oils of coriander, clove, nutmeg, and pepper towards Aeromonas hydrophila were studied in tryptic soy ag ar. Essential oils of clove, coriander, and nutmeg at concentrations o f 500, 1,250, and 10,000 mug/ml, respectively, were effective in inhib iting the growth of A. hydrophila on tryptic soy agar. Pepper was the least active oil of which 15,000 mug/ml appeared to inhibit only a dil uted culture of A. hydrophila. Behavior of A. hydrophila was also eval uated in samples of noncured cooked pork treated either with coriander or clove oil. Meat samples were packaged either under vacuum or air a nd stored at 2 and 10-degrees-C. Both essential oils caused a marked r eduction of A. hydrophila number. In the meat samples treated with clo ve oil and stored at 10-degrees-C, the lethal effect was significantly enhanced by the vacuum packaging. These data suggest that essential o ils of coriander and clove could be used to control the hazard of A. h ydrophila in noncured cooked meat at low and increased temperatures, e specially in combination with vacuum packaging.