Open AccessEffects of gamma irradiation on microbial load and quality characteristics of veal
Author(s) -
Ebrahim Rahimi,
Reza Faghihi,
Milad BaradaranGhahfarokhi,
Ali Alavaian-Ghavanini,
Hamid Reza Baradaran-Ghahfarokhi,
Zahra Siavashpour,
Afrooz Farshadi,
Farzad Rafie
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced biomedical research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2277-9175
DOI - 10.4103/2277-9175.107967
Subject(s) - food science , irradiation , gamma irradiation , staphylococcus aureus , microorganism , shelf life , significant difference , chemistry , biology , bacteria , medicine , physics , nuclear physics , genetics
Background: Veal is a rich nutrient medium that provides a suitable environment for proliferation of veal spoiling microorganisms and common food-borne pathogens. In this study, the effects of irradiation on the veal microbiological quality and half life of minced beef during chilled storage was investigated. Materials and Methods: Twenty samples of minced veal were irradiated with doses of 2, 5, 7, and 10 kGy (Cobalt-60, gamma cell 220) and evaluated for their microbiological quality up to 10 days. Results: The results showed that gamma irradiation reduced the number of microorganisms in all the irradiated minced veal samples, with 2, 5, 7, and 10 kGy (P < 0.01). Moreover, the half life of the samples were increased considerably (P < 0.01). In addition, the results indicated that there was a significant difference in the number of coliformes between untreated and irradiated samples (P < 0.05). While, Staphylococcus aureus could not be detected in the irradiated samples with doses of 7 and 10 kGy. Conclusion: These results indicated that irradiation could be employed as an effective mean to inactivate common food-borne pathogens namely S. aureus and increases the half life of veal