SUMMARY. The present paper aimed at the assessment of the changes of quality and shelf life of chicken breast meat (musculus pectoralis) packed in an atmospher

The aim of this study was the evaluation of the influence of different HHP levels (150 and 300 MPa) and time treatment (5, 10, 20 min) on the gelation and properties of hydrogels with different inulin concentration (15, 20, 25 g/100 g). High-pressure treatment, in tested ranges, induces inulin gels and allows obtaining gel structures even at a lowest tested inulin content (i.e., 15 g/100 g). Selecting the pressure parameters, it is possible to modify the characteristics of the created hydrogels. The use of higher pressure (i.e., 300 MPa) allows to increase the stability of the hydrogels and change their structure to more compressed, which results in higher yield stress, lower spreadability, harder and more adhesive structure. For example, increasing the inulin gelling induction pressure (concentration 20 g/100 g) from 150 to 300 MPa with a time treatment of 10 min resulted in an increase in yield stress from 38.1 to 711.7 Pa, spreadability force from 0.59 to 4.59 N, firmness from 0.11 to 1.46 N, and adhesiveness from −0.06 to −0.65 N. Extending the time treatment of HHP increases this effect, but mainly when higher pressure and a higher concentration of inulin are being used. For example, extension of time treatment at 300 MPa pressure from 5 to 20 min resulted in an increase in yield stress from 774.8 to 1273.8 Pa, spreadability force from 6.28 to 8.43 N, firmness from 1.87 to 2.98 N, and adhesiveness from −0.94 to −1.27 N. The obtained results indicate the possibility of using HHP to create inulin hydrogels tailored to the characteristics in a specific food product.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of high-pressure processing (HPP, 300, 400, or 500 MPa, 5 min, 5 °C) on the color, lipid oxidation, and free amino acids profile of skin-packed beef stored under cooling conditions (0–4 °C) for 56 days. The pH of the HPP-treated beef (500 MPa) was stable during storage (5.6–5.7) and significantly higher (p = 0.0010) than that of the control meat at the end of the storage time. During storage, the pH of the control meat decreased up to 5.3 on day 56. The HPP, especially 500 MPa, triggered faster lipid oxidation, leading to higher TBARS (thiobarbituric acid reactive substance) index values than the control meat (1.9 vs. 0.6 mg MAD/ kg of product at the end of storage time). Also, the extension of the storage time resulted in an increase in the TBARS index values of beef, which was greater when higher pressures were used. Moreover, HPP significantly modified the free amino acids profile of the meat. The use of HPP reduced the content of most of the free amino acids analyzed (except leucine, phenylalanine, and lysine) compared to the control meat, and the exposure to higher pressures resulted in greater losses (even a 2–3-fold lower content at the end of storage time). Furthermore, the dynamics of the increase in the free amino acids content during beef storage were higher for the control and HPP300 and lower for HPP400 and HPP500 meat. It seems that knowledge of lipid oxidation, color changes, and the content of free amino acids in beef, especially those constituting biogenic amine precursors, may help optimize process parameters such as pressure and beef storage time, to minimize undesirable quality changes. Considering the high costs of HPP, it seems also necessary to conduct a sensory evaluation to assess its potential usefulness in extending the shelf-life of culinary beef. Additionally, the changes occurring in beef within the first few hours after HPP treatment also need further investigation.

The study aimed to evaluate the quality of the coated freeze-dried chicken meat using gelatin-chitosan film enriched with Tunisian rosemary extract. The quality was evaluated on the basis of physical and barrier properties, as well as lipid oxidation for coated and uncoated chicken meat. Chicken breast meat was cut into small pieces, pasteurized, and coated with the active film solution. The active gelatin-chitosan film enriched was prepared with different concentrations of rosemary extract (0 to 2%). The application of the coating solution, with or without ultrasonic treatment was conducted. Subsequently, the samples were subjected to freeze drying for 72 h. The water activity, color, hygroscopic, and rehydration properties of the freeze-dried coated meat were measured. Moreover, the lipid oxidation of the coated vs. uncoated meat was also investigated during a 6 month storage period. Results showed that the coating can form a non-porous surface, which resists the exchange of water vapor, thereby decreasing hygroscopicity and rehydration rates. Likewise, the reduction in the color change and the level of malondialdehyde proved that the active coating allowed good preservation of the meat samples against lipid oxidation during the storage period. However, the application of coating with the use of ultrasound treatment did not positively affect lipid oxidation reduction, and an even higher value was observed in comparison to samples immersed in film forming solutions without ultrasound treatment. It can be concluded that the phenolic compounds incorporated into the film matrix had antioxidant activity, minimizing the extent of lipid oxidation in foods.