Abstract
Pork and chicken meat samples were collected from pre-selected slaughterhouses to characterize the pH, titratable acidity (%TA) and aerobic plate count (APC) from slaughter until end of shelf-life at ambient temperature (30±2ºC). Results showed that the population of microorganisms on meat samples increased over the storage time. On the other hand, pH and % TA were variable, showing no statistically significant changes throughout the storage period. Based on microbiological analysis, the shelf-life of pork and chicken meats ranged from 8 to 12 h and 3 to 6 h, respectively. Pearson correlation revealed there was no significant relationship between APC and pH of pork (r=-0.10, n=278, p>0.05) or between APC and %TA of pork (r=0.053, n=278, p>0.05). On the other hand, there was a weak negative relationship between APC and pH in chicken (r=-0.165, n=267, p<0.005) and a positive relationship between APC and %TA (r=0.401, n=266, p<0.005). This showed that pH cannot be used as a good indicator of meat spoilage. Furthermore, the differences between fresh and obviously spoiled meat samples, for both pH and %TA, were not great enough for practical use.
Highlights
Pork and chicken meats are among the most popular and widely consumed livestock meats all over the world (FAO, 2014)
The changes in pH, %TA and aerobic plate count (APC) of pork loin and chicken breast fillet throughout the storage at ambient temperature for twelve hours are shown in Figures 1 and 2, respectively
Initial pH and %TA values were 6.15 ± 0.22 and 0.82 ± 0.07%, respectively. pH values of both meats were comparable to the acceptable meat quality of newly slaughtered pork (Boler et al, 2010) and chicken (Ristic & Dame, 2010) meats
Summary
Pork and chicken meats are among the most popular and widely consumed livestock meats all over the world (FAO, 2014). In the Philippines, pork meat had an average volume production of more than 2 billion kg annually in the period 2011–2016, which is the highest among all types of meat as recorded by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA, 2017). It was followed by chicken with an average volume production of more than 1.6 billion kg in the same period (PSA, 2017). Slaughtered meats such as pork and chicken are traditionally handled, distributed, and marketed in the Philippines at ambient temperatures in wet markets for a specified period of time within the day of slaughter (National Meat Inspection Services, 2012). According to Tejada et al (2013), a lot of low-income Filipino consumers do not have refrigerators and rely only on wet markets for their daily freshly slaughtered meat supply, buying just in time for consumption on the same day.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
