TITLE:
Evaluation of the Shelf Life of Packaged Roast Beef and Some Treatments for Its Extension
AUTHORS:
Tamador Maayah, Malak Angor, Khaled Al-Marazeeq, Basem Al-Abdullah
KEYWORDS:
Roasted Beef, Nitrite, Chilling Temperature, Shelf Life
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.7 No.3,
March
30,
2016
ABSTRACT: This study was carried out to investigate the effect of nitrite concentration, and abused chilling
temperature against proper chilling temperature on the chemical, microbiological and shelf life of
roast beef stored at 4°C and 12°C. Three roast beef treatments were formulated to investigate the
effect of nitrite concentration (0.006%, 0.012% and 0.018%) and abused chilling temperature
(12°C) against control treatment (0.026% nitrite and storage at 4°C) on the chemical, microbiological
and shelf life. Results showed that roast beef containing 0.026% nitrite and stored at 4°C for
25 days had the lowest thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value while the highest TBA values were in the
treatment containing 0.006% added nitrite, stored at 12°C. The aerobic plate count, Enterobacteriaceae,
lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and spore former count were increased throughout the storage
period which was lower in 0.026% and 0.018% containing nitrite treatments while higher in other
two treatments. The lowest percentage of nitrite losses during storage was in the samples having
0.026% added nitrite to roast beef. The results emphasized the risk of abused temperature and
the importance of keeping this product under efficient and consistent refrigeration during storage
and the use of high nitrite concentration to protect it and elongate its shelf life.