Antimicrobial activity of sweet basil and thyme against salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis in egg-based pasta

Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis is known as one of the most common pathogenic bacteria causing salmonellosis in humans. Raw materials of animal origin (eggs, chicken meat) are frequent vectors that transmit this bacterium. Since eggs are used for the production of pasta, due to insufficient thermal treatment during pasta drying, they can be a potential risk to consumer health. Different essential oils of herbs can be used to reduce present pathogenic microorganisms. This paper compares a decrease in the number of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (D) ATCC 13076 and Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis isolated from outbreaks of salmonellosis in egg-based pasta under the influence of thyme and sweet basil essential oils. The results indicate that the utilized oils were more effective against the epidemic strain than the ATCC strain. In addition, thyme oil caused a more significant inhibition of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis during the production process