Abstract
Lamb meat has been commercialized in Brazil almost exclusively as a frozen product due to the longer shelf life provided by freezing when compared to refrigeration. However, as a result of the current trend of increased demand for convenience products, a need has emerged for further studies to facilitate the marketing of refrigerated lamb cuts. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the contribution of active packaging technology in extending the shelf life of lamb loins (Longissimus lumborum) stored under refrigeration (1±1 ° C) when compared to the traditional vacuum packaging. For this purpose, two kinds of sachets were employed: oxygen scavenger sachet and oxygen scavenger/carbon dioxide emitter sachet. Experiments were conducted in three treatments: 1) Vacuum (Control), 2) Vacuum + oxygen scavenger sachet and 3) Vacuum + oxygen scavenger/carbon dioxide emitter sachet. Microbiological (counts of anaerobic psychrotrophs, coliform at 45 ° C, coagulase-positive staphylococci, Salmonella and lactic acid bacteria) and physical-chemical (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, objective color, pH value, water loss from cooking and shear force) analyses were carried out weekly for a total storage period of 28 days. The experiment was performed three times for all treatments. Results showed that the lamb meat remained stable with respect to the majority of the evaluated physical and chemical indexes and remained within the standards established by Brazilian legislation for pathogenic microorganisms throughout the storage period in all three packaging systems. However, all treatments presented elevated counts of anaerobic psychrotrophic microorganisms and lactic acid bacteria, reaching values above 10(7) CFU/g at 28 days of storage. Thus, under the conditions tested, neither the oxygen scavenger sachet nor the dual function sachet (oxygen scavenger/carbon dioxide emitter) were able to extend the shelf life of refrigerated lamb loin when added to this meat vacuum packaged.
Highlights
The sheep production is increasing in Brazil due to growing demand for this product
Given the above and the lack of specific information about the use of active packaging in the consulted scientific literature for lamb meat, the objective of this study was to evaluate if the incorporation of two types of sachets in vacuum packages could extend shelf life of lamb meat stored under refrigeration
It was verified that the composition of moisture, ash, lipids and proteins from lamb loin meat (Longissimus dorsi) evaluated was consistent with data found in the literature for sheep meat (CARVALHO and BROCHIER, 2008; PINHEIRO et al, 2009)
Summary
The sheep production is increasing in Brazil due to growing demand for this product. There is a consequent need for higher product quality (LANDIM et al, 2011). The meat quality parameters involve several features and are related to the consumer’s expectations (COSTA, 2011). Some attributes such as pH, color and chemical characteristics are very important and affect consumer’s preferences (KAMRUZZAMAN et al, 2012; MADRUGA, et al, 2006). Methods for meat preservation are core factors to quality maintenance. The conservation aims at preserving the nutritional and sensory characteristics, besides avoiding the action of microorganisms and their toxins, extending the product shelf life (ANVISA, 2004)
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