Safety and quality evaluation of large meat joints cooled by a precommercial immersion vacuum cooling prototype

Abstract

A series of independent studies were conducted to document the performance of an immersion vacuum cooling (IVC) prototype. Pork hams of commercial size were cured, cooked and then cooled using either a chill cabinet, a chilling room or the IVC prototype. Cooking and cooling losses, temperature profiles and selected product quality properties were compared. Results showed that no growth of spores was detected on either IVC or chill cabinet hams, while growth was detected on chilling room hams. Texture attributes comparison concluded that all tested samples were equally juicy and tender. Thiamine retention analysis showed that the observed decrease in concentration was irrespective of cooling method. Average cooling time from 50 to 20 °C (at sample core) was approximately 90 min. Overall, it can be concluded that IVC is a time-reducing cooling method that has no deleterious consequences on product safety or quality.