Application of a Prototype of Microbial Time Temperature Indicator (TTI) to the Prediction of Ground Beef Qualities during Storage

Abstract

The predictive ability for off-flavor development and quality change of ground beef was evaluated using a microbial time temperature indicator (TTI). Quality indices such as off-flavor detection (OFD) time, color, pH, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) counts, and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts were measured during storage at 5, 10, 15, and 25 o C, respectively. Arrhenius activation energies (Ea) were estimated for temperature dependence. The Ea values for TTI response (changes in titratable acidity (TA)), VBN, AMB counts, LAB counts, and freshness, which is defined based on OFD time for quality indices of ground beef, were 106.22 kJ/mol, 58.98 kJ/mol, 110.35 kJ/mol, 116.65 kJ/ mol, and 92.73 kJ/mol, respectively. The Ea of microbial TTI was found to be closer to those of the AMB counts, LAB counts, and freshness. Therefore, AMB counts, LAB counts, and freshness could be predicted accurately by the microbial TTI response due to their Ea similarity. The microbial TTI exhibited consistent relationships between its TA change and corresponding quality indices, such as AMB counts, LAB counts, and freshness, regardless of storage temperature. Conclusively, the results established that the developed microbial TTI can be used in intelligent packaging technology for representing some selected quality indices of ground beef.

An overview of smart packaging technologies for monitoring safety and quality of meat and meat products

“…Kim et al applied a prototype of microbial TTI to predict the off‐flavor development, and quality degradation of ground beef during storage. Quality parameters such as color, pH, off‐flavor detection time, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB‐N), LAB, and aerobic mesophilic bacteria counts were assessed during storage at different temperature ranges (5°C, 10°C, 15°C, and 25°C, respectively).…”

Use of twitter data for waste minimisation in beef supply chain

“…Waste is generated by various issues such as discolouration of beef products prior to expiry of shelf life (Jeyamkondan et al 2000), lack of tenderness (Goodson et al 2002;Huffman et al 1996), presence of extra fat (Brunsø et al 2005), oxidisation of beef (Brooks 2007), presence of foreign bodies in beef products (FSA 2015) and inefficient cold chain management (Kim et al 2012;Mena et al 2011). These root causes are occurring at consumer end because of the issues within the beef supply chain.…”

“…The presence of foreign bodies could be due to improper packaging because of machine error at abattoir and processor, lack of safety checks such as metal detection, physical inspection and lack of renowned food safety process management procedures being followed such as HACCP (Goodwin 2014). The inefficient cold chain management could be because of lack of periodic maintenance of refrigeration equipment (Kim et al 2012).…”

“…Another significant issue leading to bad smell, flavour and making beef products rotten is failure of cold chain James 2002, 2010;Raab et al 2011). It is very important to maintain a chilled temperature of 1-3 degree Celsius for beef products throughout the supply chain whether it is at abattoir, processor, logistics or retailer (Kim et al 2012;Mena et al 2011). The inefficient cold chain management could be due to lack of periodic maintenance of refrigeration equipment (Kim et al 2012).…”

“…It is very important to maintain a chilled temperature of 1-3 degree Celsius for beef products throughout the supply chain whether it is at abattoir, processor, logistics or retailer (Kim et al 2012;Mena et al 2011). The inefficient cold chain management could be due to lack of periodic maintenance of refrigeration equipment (Kim et al 2012). Therefore, efficient cold chain management must be maintained for the whole beef supply chain to avoid the wastage of beef products.…”