The combined effect of pomegranate juice and packaging on the shelf life of pork meat

Abstract

The combined effect of marination with pomegranate juice and packaging on the physico-chemical, technological and microbiological properties throughout storage (12 days at 4 °C) of fresh pork meat were investigated. Three types of packaging conditions were applied: overwrap, vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) (65% 0. 25% CO2, 10% N). A total of six types of samples were examined, including: reference air (RA), reference vacuum (RV), reference map (RM), pomegranate air (PA), pomegranate vacuum (PV) and pomegranate map (PM). The total viable count (TVC). Pseudomonads spp. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and Enterobacteriaceae have shown reduced counts, pinpointing the ability of the pomegranate juice to increase the shelf life of the pork meat. Additionally, the pH was decreased after marination and although the pH increased throughout storage, it was lower than the pH of the control samples during the entire storage period. The antioxidant activity and total phenolic content of the marinated samples were largely increased and have shown significant differences from the control samples. Color measurements have shown satisfactory results in terms of better preservation; however, the obtained color might not be suitable for the eye of the consumer. Moreover, cooking loss has increased among marinated samples compared to the control ones. The mechanical properties of the meat samples were evaluated by the use of Texture Analyzer. Last but not least, the microbial composition of all samples was investigated and microbial populations were successfully detected by the use of novel technologies. Based on the findings it can be concluded that the use of pomegranate juice as marinade, to pork meat has shown beneficial effects. These findings are of great importance for the meat industry since the combined effect of marination and packaging increased the shelf life of pork meat to a great extent.