Effect of Chitosan coating on some microbial and chemical properties of fresh chicken meat

Poultry meat is highly perishable and if not packaged and stored properly, it could get soiled easily. Using of natural coatings such as chitosan in the packaging material is among the approaches that could extend its shelf life. In this study, the effect of chitosan coating as a natural preservative on shelf-life of fresh chicken fillet under chilled storage was investigated. For this, the chicken fillets were divided into the control and chitosan coated groups. Standard methods were used to evaluate the effect of chitosan on microbial (total bacterial and coliform count) and chemical (TVN) properties of samples during refrigerated storage (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 days). Results showed that, the amount of total bacterial and coliform counts and total volatile nitrogen level in both groups was increased, but the increasing rate in coated samples was lower than uncoated ones. Coated and uncoated samples had statistically significant (P