Possibility of Prolonging Chicken Meat Shelf Life by Coating with Protein Concentrate of Quinoa Seeds

Abstract

The research encompassed the production of protein casings derived from concentrated quinoa seed protein at varying concentrations (2%, 4%, 6%, 8%). The objective was to investigate the mechanical characteristics of the produced casings and their potential application in packaging refrigerated chicken breast pieces at a temperature of 4°C, with the aim of extending the storage duration for different time intervals (10, 5, 15 days). The findings pertaining to the mechanical properties of the protein casings being investigated revealed that the thickness of the membrane, tensile strength, elongation, and solubility exhibited an upward trend as the concentration increased. The findings of the microbial analysis also indicated that the application of protein casings derived from quinoa seed protein concentrate, at concentrations of 6% and 8%, on chicken breast pieces and subsequent refrigeration at 4°C, resulted in a significant reduction in the total bacterial count and the count of psychrophilic bacteria, in comparison to the control treatment where chicken pieces were left uncoated. In addition, it was observed that chicken breast portions that were coated with protein coatings exhibited no growth of coliform bacteria during the storage period, in contrast to the uncoated counterparts. The emergence of the phenomenon was observed on the tenth day of the storage period. The application of protein films on chicken breast parts resulted in a notable reduction in both the peroxide number (PV) and the value of thiarebiobutyric acid (TBA) as compared to the uncoated control treatment. The control treatment exhibited the highest values on the 15th day of refrigerated storage.