Investigating the impact of sous vide cooking on the eating quality of spent buffalo (BUBALUS BUBALIS) meat.

This study describes the impact of sous vide cooking at different temperatures and time intervals on the eating quality, specifically tenderness of two muscles, bicep femoris (BF) and semitendinosus (ST) from spent buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Spent buffalo refers to water buffalo that are no longer considered productive following a sixth lactation cycle. Steaks from each muscle were obtained and cooked at three combinations of time and temperature, namely 55 °C-8H, 65 °C-5H, and 95 °C-45 M, respectively. Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF), cooking loss, cooking yield, color, water activity (aw), total water content (TWC), total collagen content (TCC), heat soluble collagen (HSC), myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), and sensory evaluation were measured. The collagen solubilization results showed that temperature and time interacted (P ≤ 0.05), reducing the toughness of the muscles. The tenderization achieved through sous vide cooking was mainly attributed to the thermal denaturation of proteins at the typically lower temperatures and extended time used, weakening of connective tissue through collagen solubilization, and water retention. More cooking loss (P ≤ 0.05) was observed at high temperature treatment of 95 °C-45 M. Meat color, TWC, MFI, and overall acceptability exhibited differences among treatments (P ≤ 0.05). An extended heat interval at lower temperatures caused initial denaturation of myofibrillar proteins, then solubilization of connective tissue proteins. Cooking treatment 55 °C-8H (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the WBSF in both muscles; however, the ST appeared more tender than BF.

Effect of Packaging Type and Aging on the Meat Quality Characteristics of Water Buffalo Bulls.

The present study determined the effect of the packaging type and aging time on the meat quality of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) bulls. A total of n = 36 longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles from n = 18 buffalo bulls were obtained. Half LL muscles were packed in modified atmosphere packaging (Hi-O2 MAP), vacuum packaging (VP), and oxygen-permeable packaging (OP) on day 1, while the other half were aged for 7 days. Meat instrumental color, cooking loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) of the LL steaks were analyzed, both on unaged and aged buffalo meat. Color CIE L* and C* values on all display days and a* on the first 4 days of the simulated retail display under Hi-O2 MAP packaging were significantly higher than those of the VP and OP. WBSF and TBARS values were also higher under Hi-O2 MAP as compared to the other packaging. Steaks under OP exhibited lower cooking loss but higher TVB-N values than the MAP and VP. The 7-day-aged buffalo meat indicated higher instrumental color (L*, a* and C*), cooking loss, and lower WBSF values than fresh meat. This study concluded that Hi-O2 MAP improved the color; however, it negatively influenced the buffalo meat's WBSF and TBAR values. Furthermore, VP and aging were the most effective in decreasing the WBSF values of buffalo meat.

Effect of Different Packaging Atmosphere on Microbiological Shelf Life, Physicochemical Attributes, and Sensory Characteristics of Chilled Poultry Fillets.

This trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of overwrap, vacuum, and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on poultry breast fillets' microbiological, biochemical shelf life and sensory attributes. The fillets were divided into 4 groups, and each of the treatments was replicated 3 times with 60 breast fillets. The first group was a control group with overwrap packaging; the second group was vacuum packed (VP); the third and fourth groups were MAP-1: 0% O2, 40% CO2, 60% N2, and MAP-2: 20% O2, 40% CO2, 40% N2. The microbiological and biochemical analyses were performed for the total viable count, coliform count, Pseudomonas count, Salmonella count, total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N), pH, cooking loss, color, lipid oxidation, tenderness, and sensory analysis. The data were analysed through two-way ANOVA by Minitab (Minitab 17.3.1). Meat treated with understudy MAP compositions and vacuum packaging reduced total viable count, Pseudomonas count, and total coliform count than control (p<0.05). TVB-N remained below the recommended limit throughout storage except aerobic packaging (p<0.05). Cooking loss (%) was lowered and showed non-significant results (p>0.05) between vacuum packaging and both MAP concentrations. The meat stored in MAP-2 was characterised by higher (p<0.05) visual scores. Whilst MAP-1 showed higher (p<0.05) L* values and overall acceptability. Sample packaged under aerobic packaging showed significant (p<0.05) results for b* and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Meat stored in aerobic packaging showed higher (p<0.05) shear force values. The outcome of this trial may help to promote the application of understudy MAP compositions and rapid detection of microbes by biochemical analysis under local conditions.

Effect of Wet Aging on Color Stability, Tenderness, and Sensory Attributes of Longissimus lumborum and Gluteus medius Muscles from Water Buffalo Bulls.

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of wet aging on meat quality characteristics of Longissimus lumborum (LL) and Gluteus medius (GM) muscles of buffalo bulls. Meat samples from six aging periods, i.e., 0 day (d) = control, 7 d, 14 d, 21 d, 28 d, and 35 d, were evaluated for pH, color, metmyoglobin content (MetMb%), cooking loss, water holding capacity (WHC), myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI), Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF), and sensory evaluation. The pH, instrumental color redness (a *), yellowness (b *), chroma (C *), and MetMb% values were increased, while the lightness (L *) and hue angle (h *) values showed non-significant (p > 0.05) differences in both LL and GM muscles in all aging periods. The cooking loss increased while WHC decreased till 35 days of aging. MFI values significantly (p < 0.05) increased, while WBSF values decreased; in addition, sensory characteristics were improved with the increase in the aging period. Overall, the color, tenderness, and sensory characteristics were improved in LL and GM muscles until 28 and 21 days of aging, respectively. Based on the evaluated meat characteristics, 28 days of aging is required to improve the meat quality characteristics of LL, whereas 21 days of aging is suitable for GM muscle.