Shelf life extension of ground meat stored at 4 °C using chitosan and an oxygen absorber |
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| Authors: | Nikoleta Chounou Eirini Chouliara Stamatios F. Mexis Kontakos Stavros Dimitrios Georgantelis Michael G. Kontominas |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry, Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Food Microbiology, University of Ioannina, , Ioannina, 45110 Greece;2. Section of Statistics, Department of Business Administration, Technological Institute of Kavala, , Kavala, 65404 Greece |
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| Abstract: | The combined effect of chitosan (1%) and an oxygen absorber on shelf life extension of fresh ground meat stored at 4 °C was investigated. Parameters monitored over a 10‐day storage period were Total Viable Count (TVC), Pseudomonas spp., Brochothrix thermosphacta, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, pH, thiobarbituric acid (TBA), colour, odour and taste. Microbial populations were reduced by 0.4–2.0 log CFU g?1 for a given sampling day using either chitosan or the oxygen absorber, with the more pronounced effect being achieved by the combination of two. Thiobarbituric acid values for all samples increased during storage with the exception of samples treated with both chitosan and the oxygen absorber in which Thiobarbituric acid values decreased. Changes in pH values with time/different treatments were statistically insignificant. Colour parameters were affected by most treatments. On the basis of microbiological and sensory evaluation, a shelf life extension of 5–6 days was obtained for samples treated with the chitosan and the oxygen absorber combination. |
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| Keywords: | Chitosan ground meat oxygen absorber shelf life extension |
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