Non-contact preservation of chilled beef using cinnamaldehyde nanoemulsion stabilized by cinnamic acid/Tween-80.

UNLABELLED: To tackle the high volatility, hydrophobicity and instability that limited cinnamaldehyde (CMA) in practical applications, CMA nanoemulsion (CNE) synergistically stabilized by cinnamic acid (CA) and Tween-80 were successfully prepared and characterized by ultrasonic emulsification treatment. The results showed that the CNE particle size was uniform (105.54 ± 2.14 nm). The CMA in CNE showed better slow-release properties under sealed conditions (22.68 ± 2.81% on day 10). The heat stability, freeze-thaw stability and storage stability of CNE showed good stability during 10 d storage period. Sensory and physicochemical property analyses indicated that the CNE was released headspace under non-contact conditions, reducing the impact on the flavor of chilled beef. It also effectively mitigated the increase in pH, juice loss and the increase in total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS), and total number of microbial colonies (TNC) of chilled beef during refrigeration. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10068-026-02226-5.