## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Microbial Enumeration of Chicken Thights  
Microbial counts of all bacteria tested in the present study increased with storage time at all temperatures tested (0, 5 and 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C) (_p_ < 0.05). The total viable count (TVC) is a microbiological index that estimates the overall concentration of microorganisms in a sample and helps to define the hygiene level and remaining shelf life of food [47]. In the present study, initial microbial counts in the control samples were 4.6, 3.9, and 2.5 logcfu/g for TVC, _Pseudomonas_ spp., and _Brochothrix thermosplacta_, respectively. Similar results concerning the initial values of TVCs and _Pseudomonas_ spp. Were reported by [PERSON] et al. [44] and [PERSON] et al. [48], who reported initial values of approximately 4-5 log cfu/g for these microorganisms in fresh and pre-cooked chicken cuts stored aerobically at 4 \({}^{\circ}\)C, respectively, whereas initial counts noted in the present study for _Br. Thermosplacta_ and _Enterobacteriaceae_ were lower as compared to the aforementioned studies [44; 48; 49; 50]. The TVC values increased to 9.0, 7.5, 8.2, and 7.2 log CFU/g on the last day of storage for each treatment (day 17, 24, 28, and 16) for the control, MAP, EC-flav and, EC-glu, respectively, which exceeded the upper limit set for microbiological acceptability (7 logcfu/g) after approximately 8, 15, 19, and 12 days of storage at 0 \({}^{\circ}\)C [12; 18; 24; 47; 48; 51]. In the case where the chicken cuts were stored at higher temperatures (5 and 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C), the abovementioned limit was reached at a shorter storage time, resulting in shorter shelf life as compared to that of samples stored at 0 \({}^{\circ}\)C (Figure 1a-c). Results were in line with the respective results reported by [PERSON] et al. [50], who reported similar values of TVCs. They reported that values of TVC increased to 7.3, 8.0, 8.1, and 8.7 log CFU/g after approximately 9, 6, 3, and 2 days when chicken breasts were stored at 0, 5, 10, and 15 \({}^{\circ}\)C, respectively. Similar results were reported by [PERSON] et al. [2] and [PERSON] et al. [48]. Faster microbiological growth was recorded by the increase in storage temperature and time (_p_ < 0.05), as also reported by other researchers [48; 49; 52]. Additionally, these microorganisms were found to be the initial microflora for the chicken cuts and were also stored under MAP conditions at all temperatures tested, which is in accordance with the results of previous studies [12; 13]. Microbial growth was significantly inhibited in the chicken samples coated with the edible packaging materials and MA-packaged chicken at all storage temperatures (Figures 1 and 2), similar to growth rates in the EC-flav and EC-glu samples (_p_ < 0.05). The application of MAP resulted in a shelf life extension of approximately 7 and 4-5 days when the chicken cuts were stored at 0 and 5 \({}^{\circ}\)C, respectively. A similar effect of MAP was reported by [PERSON] et al. [23], who stated a shelf life extension of 4 days of MA-packed chicken breast fillets stored at 4 \({}^{\circ}\)C and [PERSON] et al. [12], who also noted a respective shelf life extension of chicken fillets. [PERSON] et al. [14] also reported a 7-day shelf life prolongation of the MA-packed samples at refrigerated storage (4 \({}^{\circ}\)C). Figure 1: Enumeration of TVC in chicken stored at **(a)** 0 \({}^{\circ}\)C, **(b)** 5 \({}^{\circ}\)C, and **(c)** 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C (\(\square\) control, \(\bullet\) MAP, \(\circ\) EC-flav, \(\triangle\) EC-glu). The application of the antimicrobial edible coating resulted in approximately 1 log cfu/ g reduction in the initial TVC, showing an important effect on the microorganisms responsible for the spoilage of the chicken cuts. Similar outcomes have been noted by [PERSON] et al. [47],where the TVC of the samples treated using 2% citrus extract revealed a reduction by 2.5 and 2.0 log units compared to the untreated samples, indicating the preservative effect of the citrus extract on the bacteria.