Materials and methods
Khliaa Ezir preparation and samplingKhliaa Ezir was prepared using the traditional diagram described in Figure 1. Briefly, 9 preparations were conducted using beef Semimembranosus muscle of an average of 2 kg for each preparation. The fresh beef obtained from a local butcher was aged according to the standard conditions in Algeria. Fresh boneless lean meat cuts after salting and curing (5-8 cm of length, 4-6 cm thick) were marinated in a mixture of spices that contain caraway, coriander and garlic during 7 days before cooking at 80°C on water. Finally, the cooked meat was preserved in an earthenware jar (Ezir) and covered with a mixture of melted beef fat and olive oil. From each batch of Khliaa Ezir preparation, samples of fresh meat (at 0 days), marinade samples (1, 3, 7 days), cooked samples, immersed and stored samples (at 10, 20, 30 days) were sampled for microbiological analysis (in triplicate).
Microbiological analysisAt selected times during processing, 10g of each sample were aseptically homogenized with 90 mL buffered peptone water (AES Laboratories, Combourg, France) for 2 min using a Polytron homogenizer (Polytron ® PT-MR 2100, Kinematica AG, Switzerland).
Microbiological changes during the preparation steps of
AbstractKhliaa Ezir is a traditional and popular meat product, which is produced from whole beef, camel, goat or lamb meat. It is an Algerian and a ready to eat meat product that is marinated, cooked and ripened. The product is for numerous months preserved in an earthenware jar at room temperature. Microbiological investigation on Khliaa Ezir during preparation is a prerequisite and to our knowledge, this is the first study, which provide its preliminary microbiological characterization. Thus, the aim of the present work is to study the evolution of the microflora and microbiological safety of Khliaa Ezir during the main traditional preparation steps. The microbiological counts indicated that Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) are the most abundant in the product, namely during the repining and storage period. However, total Coliforms were very low in fresh beef, being eliminated after 3 days of curing. Yeasts and Molds were the highest in fresh beef, and then disappeared after cooking and during the ripening and storage step. None of the pathogenic flora during the whole preparation steps were detected. We think that the cooking temperature applied during thermal treatment (80°C) contributed to the high hygienic quality of Khliaa Ezir. On another hand, a significant increase in pH was observed during the storage period to achieve a final pH of 6.19 ± 0.01 at 30 days of storage.
