African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 5 (12), pp. 1274-1283, 16 June 2006   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2006 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Effect of combination pre-treatment on physicochemical, sensory and microbial characteristics of fresh aerobically stored minced goat (Black Bengal) meat organs

Banani Ray Chowdhury, Rabi Shekhar Mukherjee, Runu Chakraborty and         Utpal Ray Chaudhuri*

Department of Food Technology and Biochemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata – 700 032, India.

*Corresponding authors E-mail: brchowdhury1@rediffmail.com.

Accepted 31 May, 2006

Minced goat meat organs (bicep fermoris muscle, heart, kidney and liver) of a particular variety of goat (Black Bengal) were stored aerobically in refrigerator at 4°C for 15 days after some combination pretreatments: a) tea liquor and honey, b) acetic acid and glucose and c) spices and curing mixture; followed by subsequent refrigerated storage at 4°C. It was observed that pretreated samples exhibited significantly (P<0.05) better physicochemical (pH, water holding capacity, thiobarbutyric acid value and extract release volume), sensory (color and flavor) and microbial characteristics in comparison to the control goat meat samples without any pretreatment. Among all the pretreatments in this study, tea liquor and honey pretreatment as well as curing mixture pretreatment offered more effective results (P<0.05) for improving goat meat quality than pretreatment with acetic acid and glucose. However, acetic acid and glucose pretreatment controlled the fungal growth in meat samples most effectively. The curing mixture was most effective in controlling pH, water-holding capacity, extract release volume, flavor and aerobic bacterial count from the beginning to the end of experiment, whereas tea liquor and honey was the most effective pretreatment in controlling extract release volume (ERV), thiobarbutyric acid (TBARS) value, color and texture of samples. Among the organs, bicep femoris muscle exhibited best acceptable quality (P<0.05) throughout the storage time, whereas liver samples were most prone to spoilage (P<0.05).

Key words: Goat meat organs, pretreatment, acetic acid - glucose, tea liquor - honey, curing - mixture, physicochemical properties, microbial count..