Selected Medium-Chain Dicarboxylic Acid Combinations: Improving the Shelf Life and Quality of Beef During Chilled Storage

Using a single preservative can limit the effectiveness of preservation, increase the risk of microbial resistance, and negatively impact food quality. A combination of preservatives can help address these limitations more effectively. Combining two preservatives may lead to a synergistic effect, hence boasting their antimicrobial activities compared to using them individually. Three medium-chain dicarboxylic acids (MCDAs), azelaic acid (AZA), succinic acid (SUA), and glutaric acid (GLA), with demonstrated antimicrobial activity, were selected for this investigation to assess the effect of their combination on the microbiological, physicochemical, and shelf-life characteristics of beef products preserved at 4 °C. These MCDAs demonstrated strong synergy in two-by-two combinations in the checkerboard assay. In antioxidant experiments, these MCDAs displayed minimal antioxidant activity, nevertheless. The best bacteriostatic and antioxidant combination ratios, GLA-AZA (2:1), GLA-SUA (1:1), and AZA-SUA (2:1), were determined by combining data from checkerboard and antioxidant synergistic assays for sliced and minced beef preservation studies. These combinations demonstrated synergistic effects on freshness, particularly AZA-SUA (2:1), in the chilled sliced beef model by preserving the colour and pH of the sliced beef while lowering the total volatile basic nitrogen, microbiological counts, and weight loss. These combinations’ efficaciousness in preventing microbial growth of sliced beef attests to their synergistic bacterial inhibition effects in the checkerboard assay. In addition, the freshness of the minced beef was likewise maintained by these combinations, particularly at a concentration of 1456 µg/g. The results suggested the potential for developing these MCDA combinations as preservatives for chilled beef storage.