The effect of using gelatine:chitosan (G:Ch) based films as carriers of nanoemulsified garlic essential oil/α-tocopherol (0.4% v/v) on the shelf-life and sensory acceptance of sliced omega-3-rich mortadella stored at 6 ± 1 °C for 7 days, was investigated. Three treatments were evaluated: mortadella packed with active (T1) and passive films (T2) and without (T3) films. T1 presented the highest effectiveness against the inoculated Listeria monocytogenes and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and retarded spoilage bacteria growth. The colour coordinates, pH and Aw of T1 were affected by the active film. TBARs values from T2 and T3 overcame the threshold of 1.0 mg MDA kg−1 sample at day 5. Panellists scored all sensory attributes between 6 (slightly liked) and 7 (moderately liked) within all treatments. The active G:Ch films developed has the potential to be used as good preservative carrier in sliced mortadella during refrigerated storage, and thus, this product can be processed without synthetic preservative.