Determination of chemical and microbiological characteristics of meat products treated by radiation

Radiation treatment of food products carried out to increase their shelf life can result in chemical transformations initiated by free radicals. Volatile compounds (alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, etc.) formed, in particular, as a result of lipid oxidation, impair the organoleptic properties of products. Method of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) makes it possible to identify the fact of food processing by detection of volatile marker compounds: in the case of meat products, the existing standard brings under regulation detection of 2-alkylcyclobutanones, however, the products with a reduced fat content, such as turkey and chicken, require an alternative marker. The results of GKh-MS study revealed the dependence of microbiological parameters and the content of various volatile organic substances in chilled turkey meat on the dose of electron radiation. It is shown that the total amount of alcohols, ketones and aldehydes (11 compounds) decreases exponentially with an increase in the absorbed dose. An increase in the radiation dose leads to a higher content of carbonyl compounds (aldehydes and acetone), which results in a specific taste and smell of the irradiated products. At the same time, the acetone concentration increases linearly with the absorbed dose, which makes it possible to use acetone as a potential marker of the degree of irradiation of low-fat meat products. Irradiation in the «working» doses (0.5 – 1 kGy) significantly suppresses the pathogenic microflora and keeps the organoleptic properties of the product.

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