ASSESSMENT OF SOME PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY PARAMETERS OF RAW MEATBALLS PREPARED WITH HIGH PRESSURIZED MEAT

Abstract

Raw Meatball (Çiğ Köfte) is a traditional Turkish food prepared from raw beef or lamb meat, bulgur, tomato and/or pepper paste, spices, and condiments that is treated with any process and consumed raw. In this study, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) was applied to post-rigor minced beef meat at 50–300 MPa for 20 mins at room temperature to improve safety of Çiğ Köfte. Physicochemical (aw, moisture, pH, and colour) and total aerobic mesophilic bacteria analyses were performed on both minced beef and raw meatball samples. Significant (P <0.05) differences caused by the HHP treatment were observed in the physicochemical and microbial analyses: Total aerobic mesophilic bacteria counts decreased as HHP levels increased. Therefore, it is concluded that HHP treatment is a promising process for preparing Çiğ Köfte while maintaining its traditional recipe. The application of the current study is expected therefore, would be a new insight for ready-to-eat food sector.