Shelf-Life Evaluation of Pork Loins as Influenced by the Application of Different Antimicrobial Interventions

Abstract

The objective of the study was to determine the impact of antimicrobial interventions and refrigerated dark storage on the shelf-life of pork chops. Boneless pork loins (n = 36) were split and stored for 1, 14, 28, and 42 days at 2–4 °C after being treated with the following antimicrobials: water (WAT), Bovibrom 225 ppm (BB225), Bovibrom 500 ppm (BB500), Fit Fresh 3 ppm (FF3), or washing solution 750 ppm (WS750). After the end of dark storage, pork loins were further processed and sliced into chops, overwrapped in trays, and displayed for up to an additional 96 h in a retail case. Instrumental and visual color measurements as well as mesophilic and psychrotrophic aerobic bacteria, and lactic acid bacteria were measured. BB500 and FF3 performed better in inhibiting the growth of indicator bacteria under 6 logs; however, FF3 presented the best stability for color during storage. Principal component analysis clustered initial dark storage days with a* and chroma while % discoloration, hue, b* and microorganisms where clustered with longer dark storage times. In general, treatment FF3 presented the best performance, both in inhibiting microbial growth and maintaining the stability of color, thus increasing the shelf-life of pork loins.

Modernization Data Analysis and Visualization for Food Safety Research Outcomes

“…Shelf life can be evaluated in different ways depending on which method or combined of methods has been used. Vargas et al [96] conducted a study on pork loins treated with different antimicrobials to evaluate instrumental and visual color of both fat and muscle from a quality perspective and further analysis on indicator microorganisms. Casas et al [88] determined the effect on microbial loads after spray-or dry-chilling combined with hot water treatment for up to 135 days.…”

“…When conducting shelf life studies, the main objective, or the main question to be answered is, "what is the shelf life of a certain product? ", meaning what is the maximum allowable time in which a food will remain safe and will retain all its sensorial and functional characteristics when stored under specific conditions (temperature and oxygen) [96,102]. Many are the factors to be considered when conducting shelf life studies, as the shelf life of a product can be lost not only by reaching certain microbial concentration but also by color changes, odor, overall appearance of the product, sensorial properties, etc.…”

“…Moreover, bacteria A and bacteria B are more associated with the treatment group, suggesting that more growth of bacteria A and B was promoted when the treatment was applied. Of course, this is a simple example with only three dependent variables, but several variables can be analyzed, and association can be estimated between groups combinations and the dependent variables [96,103]. Figure 8B shows the use of multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate shelf life studies.…”