# Impact of Thyme Essential Oil on the Aroma Profile and Shelf Life of Vacuum-Packed Minced Turkey Meat

## TL;DR

This study shows that adding thyme essential oil to turkey meat can reduce spoilage odors and extend shelf life while altering the aroma profile.

## Contribution

The study introduces thyme essential oil as a natural preservative that modifies volatile compounds and reduces fat rancidity in turkey meat.

## Key findings

- Thyme EO reduced the formation of spoilage-related volatile compounds like benzeneacetaldehyde and hexanal.
- A 0.005% concentration of thyme EO significantly lowered peroxide values, indicating reduced fat rancidity.
- Turkey meat with 0.02% thyme EO had the most pleasant aroma, including citrus notes.

## Abstract

There is considerable interest in the use of essential oils for food preservation, but their effect on the aroma profile of a product is poorly understood. This study investigated the effect of thyme essential oil (EO) addition at increasing concentrations (0.005, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.03% v/w) on the volatile compound composition of vacuum-packed minced turkey meat after storage for 8 days at 1–2 °C. The aroma profile of the meat was determined using the HS-SPME/GCMS (headspace solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography–mass spectrometry) method. The results were also analysed by PCA (principal component analysis). The addition of thyme EO had a modifying effect on the aroma profile of meat-derived components, e.g., the formation of benzeneacetaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, 4,7-dimethylbenzofuran, hexathiane, hexanal, and 1-hexanol was reduced and the appearance of 9-hexadecenoic acid was observed in the stored samples. The increase in EO concentration affected the levels of its individual components in the meat headspace in different ways. In terms of fat rancidity indices, even a 0.005% addition of this essential oil significantly reduced the peroxide value. Quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) showed that the addition of thyme EO reduced or masked the intensity of unpleasant odours associated with meat spoilage. In the aroma analysis, the turkey with 0.02% v/w EO scored highest, and pleasant citrus notes were found.