Effect of Organic Acid Salts and Chitosan on Case-Ready Packed Ground Beef and Pork Patties

The effects of ascorbic acid (AA) alone or in combination with sodium acetate/calcium lactate (AA+SACL) and chitosan (AA+CH) on the physicochemical properties and microbial growth of beef and pork patties stored at 5oC were investigated. The patties were case-ready packed in an air-containing polypropylene (PP) tray and sealed with polyethylene terephthlate (PETP)/casted polypropylene (CPP) top film. Treatments with AA, AA+SACL and AA+CH were effective in inhibiting total aerobic bacteria from day 4 compared to the control. In general, thiobarbituric acid, volatile basic nitrogen, and hue values in treated samples were lower than the control over the storage, whereas Hunter a * (redness) values and sensory scores for surface color and off-odor were higher. Regarding quality and shelf-life extension, ground beef and pork patties treated with AA+SACL produced the most desirable results among all treatments during storage. Key words: ascorbic acid, acetate and lactate, chitosan, patties, shelf-lif