Food grade vinegar acts as an effective tool for short-term meat preservation

Abstract

The study was designed to evaluate the physico-chemical, microbial and sensorial quality of beef incorporated with different levels of vinegar at refrigerated storage (4±1ºC). Fresh beef samples were divided into three different batches i.e. T₀ = control (without vinegar), T₁ = 5% vinegar and T₂ = 10% vinegar. The samples were evaluated for sensory properties (color and flavor), physico-chemical properties (pH, cooking loss, FFA, POV and TBARS) and microbial counts (TVC, TCC and TYMC) on 0, 7 and 14 days of storage at 4ºC. The obtained results showed that addition of different levels of vinegar significantly (p<0.05) influenced on sensory, physico-chemical and microbiological properties compared to control samples. Comparatively better color and flavor were found in T₁ and T₂ respectively among the treatments (p<0.05). Lower pH was observed in T₁ and T₂ compared to control treatment. POV, FFA and TBARS values were found better in T₁, whereas the other treatments fluctuated slightly. The lowest microbial counts were significantly lower in higher vinegar treated groups along with at different day’s intervals in TVC, TCC and TYMC (p<0.01). It might be stated from the experiment that vinegar is a means of fresh beef preservation for a short time. From this study, it also concluded that 10% vinegar is effective for short term preservation of beef satisfactorily at refrigerated condition.