Effect of high-dose irradiation on quality characteristics of ready-to-eat chicken breast

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>High-dose (higher than 30kGy) irradiation has been used to sterilize specific-purposed foods for safe and long-term storage. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of high-dose irradiation on the quality characteristics of ready-to-eat chicken breast in comparison with those of the low-dose irradiation. Ready-to-eat chicken breast was manufactured, vacuum-packaged, and irradiated at 0, 5, and 40kGy. The populations of total aerobic bacteria were 4.75 and 2.26 Log CFU/g in the samples irradiated at 0 and 5kGy, respectively. However, no viable cells were detected in the samples irradiated at 40kGy. On day 10, bacteria were not detected in the samples irradiated at 40kGy but the number of bacteria in the samples irradiated at 5kGy was increased. The pH at day 0 was higher in the samples irradiated at 40kGy than those at 0 and 5kGy. The 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) values of the samples were not significantly different on day 0. However, on day 10, the TBARS value was significantly higher in the samples irradiated at 40kGy than those at 0 and 5kGy. There was no difference in the sensory scores of the samples, except for off-flavor, which was stronger in samples irradiated at 5 and 40kGy than control. However, no difference in off-flavor between the irradiated ones was observed. After 10 days of storage, only the samples irradiated at 40kGy showed higher off-flavor score. SPME-GC–MS analysis revealed that 5kGy of irradiation produced 2-methylbutanal and 3-methylbutanal, which were not present in the control, whereas 40kGy of irradiation produced hexane, heptane, pentanal, dimethly disulfide, heptanal, and nonanal, which were not detected in the control or the samples irradiated at 5kGy. However, the amount of compounds such as allyl sulfide and diallyl disulfide decreased significantly in the samples irradiated at 5kGy and 40kGy.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P><P>► Comparison of high (40kGy) and low-dose irradiation (5kGy) on the quality characteristics of ready-to-eat chicken breast was investigated. ► Results of pH and lipid oxidation were different in the sample irradiated at 40kGy from those at 0 and 5kGy. ► Off-flavor was detected from both irradiated samples at day 0 but it was detected only in 40kGy sample after 10 days. ► Number of volatile compounds produced were the greatest in the 40kGy-irradiated sample followed by 5kGy and non-irradiated control.</P>