Ensuring the best storage temperature of Egyptian pastrami based on microbiological, physico-chemical and sensory evaluation

Abstract

Egyptian pastrami is among the most important and widely consumed meat products in Egypt and due to the great defects in its storage as a ready-to-eat products by retailers, distributers or even consumers, the aim of the current research is to assess the effect of storage temperatures on physico-chemical, microbiological, and sensory properties of Egyptian pastrami using autoclaved non-meat ingredients to ensure the best storage temperature of such important food. Four storage temperatures were applied including room temperature during summer (25 °C), room temperature during winter (15 °C), in fridge at 4 °C and in freezer at −18 °C for a period of 60 days using whole unsliced produced pastrami arms. The findings showed that there was no significant effect (P > 0.05) of storage temperatures on the physico-chemical and sensory properties of tested Egyptian pastrami as the four types were highly accepted based on the physico-chemical and sensory evaluation. Meanwhile, there was noticeable effect of storage temperatures on the microbiological properties of the four manufactured types of pastrami, as the samples stored at −18 °C or at 4 °C for 60 days had the lowest microbial loads and was the best from microbiological aspect.