Abstract
Egyptian kofta is considered one of the processed meat products with high nutritional value with an economic price, suiting a wide range of consumers. So, it requires protection from microbial contamination during their preparation, storage, and distribution. Sumac (Rhus coriaria) spice extract can be considered as herbal antimicrobial shown to have their activities against many foodborne pathogens. The antibacterial activities of different concentrations of sumac spice extract (1%, 2.5% and 5%) were tested in vitro against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacteriaceae using the agar disc diffusion method. The average value of total S. aureus count (CFU/g) in untreated samples (control) was 1.1×104 ± 7.6×102 CFU/g at the 6th day during chilling storage which significantly (p<0.05) decrease at the 9th day of storage to 7×104 ± 3.4×103, 9×103 ± 1.1×102 and 8×103 ± 2.9×102 CFU/g in treated samples with 1%, 2.5% and 5% sumac spice extract respectively. The average value of total Enterobacteriaceae count in the 6th day was 1×104 ± 3.5×102 CFU/g in the untreated kofta samples which significantly (p<0.05) decrease in the 9th day of storage to 1.1×104 ± 1×103, 9×103 ± 1.7×102 and 8.1×103 ± 77.7 CFU/g in treated samples with 1%, 2.5% and 5% sumac spice extract respectively. Our findings suggested the possibility of using the fruit of Sumac as a novel source of natural antimicrobial for the food industries.