Abstract:To investigate the preservative effect of cinnamon essential oil on chilled beef，this paper socked beef in cinnamon essential oil solutions of different concentrations and then stored it at 4 ℃for 20 d after vacuum-packaging.The preservative effect of cinnamon essential oil on chilled beef was determined using indicators such as the total bacterial count，volatile base nitrogen，thiobarbituric acid value，pH value and sensory score.The changes in cinnamaldehyde content in the beef and the influence of the essential oil on the palatability of the beef were also examined.The results showed that the treatment of cinnamon essential oil combined with vacuum packaging had a significant preservative effect on chilled beef.As the concentration was higher，the preservation effect was better.The beef treated with 1.2% cinnamon essential oil still met the standard for all indicators on the 20 d.The growth rates of the total bacterial count，volatile base nitrogen，and pH value of the beef were controlled，and the degree of lipid peroxidation was delayed.The results of the influence of cinnamaldehyde content on the palatability of chilled beef showed that the beef treated with 1.2% cinnamon essential oil had a cinnamaldehyde content of only 0.09 mL/kg，which did not affect the taste of the beef.The combination of cinnamon essential oil and vacuum packaging has a good preservative effect on chilled beef and does not affect its palatability.