Changes in the physicochemical and microbiological properties of pork and chicken meats at ambient storage condition

Monica R. Manalo; Alonzo A. Gabriel

doi:10.18485/meattech.2020.61.1.3

Monica R. Manalo University of the Philippines, College of Home Economics, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene
Alonzo A. Gabriel Food Processing Division, Industrial Technology Development Institute, Department of Science and Technology

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18485/meattech.2020.61.1.3

Keywords: pork, chicken, pH, aerobic plate count, titratable acidity

Abstract

Pork and chicken meat samples were collected from pre-selected slaughterhouses to characterize the pH, titratable acidity (%TA) and aerobic plate count (APC) from slaughter until end of shelf-life at ambient temperature (30±2ºC). Results showed that the population of microorganisms on meat samples increased over the storage time. On the other hand, pH and % TA were variable, showing no statistically significant changes throughout the storage period. Based on microbiological analysis, the shelf-life of pork and chicken meats ranged from 8 to 12 h and 3 to 6 h, respectively. Pearson correlation revealed there was no significant relationship between APC and pH of pork (r=-0.10, n=278, p>0.05) or between APC and %TA of pork (r=0.053, n=278, p>0.05). On the other hand, there was a weak negative relationship between APC and pH in chicken (r=-0.165, n=267, p<0.005) and a positive relationship between APC and %TA (r=0.401, n=266, p<0.005). This showed that pH cannot be used as a good indicator of meat spoilage. Furthermore, the differences between fresh and obviously spoiled meat samples, for both pH and %TA, were not great enough for practical use.