## 1 Introduction  
Meat consumption has been focused on poultry during the past decades, which has in fact doubled in many countries worldwide between 2000 and 2019 [1; 2]. Factors such as low price, high nutritional value due to the presence of high-quality protein, low amounts of fat, mild sensory characteristics, ease and short time of cooking, and cultural acceptability in some countries [3; 4; 5], as well as the need to fill in the gaps of the overall decreased consumption of both beef and pork meat [6; 7], are a few of the most crucial aspects that lead to the abovementioned increase in poultry and mainly chicken consumption. According to FAO [8], the global production of poultry meat per year is about 127 million tons, making poultry industry the biggest meat sector worldwide, which is expected to represent 41% of all the protein from meat sources in 2030 [8; 9]. However, the aforementioned increased poultry meat production and consumption has led to an approximately 3.7 to 4.2% loss of meat due to spoilage per year [10]. Fresh chicken meat, and especially chicken cuts, is a sensitive food product due to its high concentration of nutrients in the flesh, high levels of water activity, and near-neutral pH, which are the main parameters resulting in the fast growth of spoilage and pathogen microorganisms and, consequently, in a fast loss of freshness and, therefore, a short shelf life [11; 12; 13; 14]. The majority of the microorganisms responsible for the spoilage of poultry meat are mostly found on its surface. Microorganisms such as _Pseudomonas_ spp., Enterobacteriaceae, and lactobacilli, which are the predominant bacteria, as well as biochemical reactions, result in changes such as proteolysis, amino acid degradation and, most importantly, lipid oxidation which, at the latter stages of the storage of poultry meat, induce the development of off-flavours and slime [15; 16] and result in lowering the quality and shortening the commercial shelf life of the product [17; 18; 19]. One of the most important parameters to take into consideration is the temperature; therefore, refrigeration of chicken meat is very important for the extension of the shelf life by delaying microbial growth and as a result spoilage. Although refrigeration is an absolutely necessary preservation technique to retain the microbial status and high quality of fresh poultry products, it cannot alone assure an extended shelf life. Inappropriate storage conditions, such as temperature fluctuations, inadequate packaging, and long shelf life, may lead to microbial, physicochemical, and undesirable sensory changes [20]. Therefore, preventing or inhibiting the quality deterioration of chicken meat stored under refrigeration might be beneficial for the sustainability of the final product [21]. Among the approaches applied during meat processing, for the prolongation of the shelf life and maintenance of meat products' quality, is the packaging. Food packaging plays an important role in the packaging industry sector and innovations in this field have been motivated by consumer demands, as well as by environmental issues and legislation. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) or the application of active packaging based on edible films may significantly extend the shelf life of perishable poultry cuts. MAP has been recently increasingly applied for the packaging of foods of animal origin [22] and has become the most ubiquitous method for retail packaging of fresh and processed meat as an alternative nonthermal food preservation system [23]. Its efficiency in significantly extending the shelf life of meat relies on carbon dioxide, which is the main gas in the package and is well known for its antibacterial properties [24]. Although MAP, in addition to its several advantages, has been characterized by a number of shortcomings, in the EU, the application of MAP alongside the appropriate management of the cold chain is the most frequently preventing strategy used against microbial growth.