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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Athens, Georgia » U.S. National Poultry Research Center » Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359884
Research Project: Assessment and Improvement of Poultry Meat, Egg, and Feed Quality

Location: Quality and Safety Assessment Research Unit

Title: Effect of in-package high voltage dielectric barrier discharge on microbiological, color and oxidation properties of pork in modified atmosphere packaging during storage

Author
item HUANG, MINGMING - Nanjing Agricultural University
item WANG, JIAMEI - Hainan University
item Zhuang, Hong
item YAN, WENJING - Nanjing Forestry University
item ZHAO, JIANYING - Nanjing Agricultural University
item ZHANG, JIANHAO - Nanjing Agricultural University

Submitted to: Meat Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/21/2018
Publication Date: 11/22/2018
Citation: Huang, M., Wang, J., Zhuang, H., Yan, W., Zhao, J., Zhang, J. 2018. Effect of in-package high voltage dielectric barrier discharge on microbiological, color and oxidation properties of pork in modified atmosphere packaging during storage. Meat Science. 149:107-113.

Interpretive Summary: Microbiological quality of raw meat has been a challenge for industry. Traditional thermal treatments can effectively inactivate microorganisms in raw meat; but they cannot be used for quality preservation of fresh meat products. In-package high voltage dielectric barrier discharge (HVDBD) is a new non-thermal antimicrobial treatment. A number of studies have shown that the HVDBD effectively inactivates microbes and extends microbiological shelf life of fresh produce and meat products. In this study, we investigated effects of HVDBD treatments on microbial quality, color and both protein and lipid oxidation of fresh pork meat packed in high CO2 (20%) with various O2 contents (20 to 60%). The results show that the in-package HVDBD treatment significantly reduces microbial populations on fresh pork regardless of packaging atmosphere. Increased oxygen concentrations in raw pork packages results in further reduction in microbial populations in the HVDBD-treated meat. However, the HVDBD treatment may cause changes in meat surface color and increases in both lipid and protein oxidation, indicating that the treatment may cause quality losses in fresh pork. The further studies are warranted to minimize these adverse effects of HVDBD treatments on raw meat products before the technology can be used for extending shelf life of fresh meat.

Technical Abstract: The aim of study was to evaluate the effect of high voltage dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) treatments on microbial and physicochemical quality of fresh pork in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) during storage. Fresh pork loins were packaged in gas mixtures of 20:60:20, 40:40:20, or 60:20:20 (O2, N2, CO2), and treated with high voltage DBD at 85 kV for 60 s and stored at 4 °C for 12 days. The data seems to suggest that the total viable counts were lower in treated groups only for days 4 and 8, and only significant on day 12 for the 60% MAP. The 60% MAP+DBD-treated group induced a higher TBARS and carbonyl values (P < .05) than 60% MAP group at 8 and 12 day. These results indicate that the in-package DBD system may be used to improve microbial quality of pork loin during storage. However, a method to overcome deteriorating effects by the treatment on fresh pork color and oxidation should be developed to guarantee consumer's acceptance.