MICROBIOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF MINCED MEAT SEMI-FINISHED PRODUCTS WITH THE ADDITION OF VEGETABLE HOMOGENATES AND CONCENTRATES

Abstract

There was carried out an evaluation of minced meat semi-finished products out of beef, pork and horseflesh with adding fruit-and-berry homogenates and vegetable concentrates. Homogenates (apple, sea buckthorn) were obtained by means of mechano-acoustic homogenizer; concentrates (carrot, beet, pumpkin) were IR-dried and minced by electric grinder. The starting raw material was evaluated for compliance with microbiological parameters. No pathogenic bacteria of the genus Salmonella and bacteria Listeria monocytogenes were found in minced meat, the TAAMC parameter was within the range of (1.6–2.6) × 106 CFU/g; coliform bacteria were not detected. Fruit-and-berry homogenates met the requirements of hygienic standards. In vegetable concentrates, exceeding the standards as to TAAMC and coliform bacteria count was observed. The final product, a minced meat semi-finished product with adding fruit-and-berry homogenate, has been established to complain with hygienic standards. With adding vegetable concentrates, only 33% of the samples met the requirements of the normative documents. Failure of the other 67% of samples to meet the standards was revealed as to parameters TAAMC and coliform bacteria count. We suppose that microbiological parameters of the samples with additives having higher bacterial contamination depended on both concentration of microbiologically contaminated vegetable concentrate and evenness of its distribution in the semi-finished product.