Antilisterial activity of cinnamon essential oil, pomegranate extract, or strawberry tree extract against in slices of dry-cured ham and pork loin.

Owing to concerns about the antimicrobial resistance of agents that can prevent the growth of in meat, researchers have investigated natural preservatives with antilisterial effects. However, application of essential oils and plant extracts usually results in reduced antimicrobial activity in meat products when compared to studies. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of cinnamon essential oil, pomegranate, and strawberry tree extracts in slices of dry-cured ham and pork loin against . Fragments of sterile dry-cured ham were inoculated with 100 μL cinnamon oil 0.5%, pomegranate, or strawberry crude extract. After 10 min, 100 μL of serotype 4b (10 colony-forming unit [CFU]/mL) was inoculated, and samples were incubated at 7 °C for 7 d to simulate the processing and storage temperature conditions of dry-cured meat products. was detected and quantified. Only strawberry extract presented significant differences ( < 0.05) from the control; thus, it was selected for the assay with 2% and 4% salt-treated pork loin. The strawberry tree extract significantly ( < 0.05) reduced the growth of in dry-cured ham. However, it could not reduce growth in pork loin, regardless of the salt concentration. This is the first report on the antimicrobial effect of strawberry tree leaf extract against in dry-cured ham.