Application of a Prototype of Microbial Time Temperature Indicator (TTI) to the Prediction of Ground Beef Qualities during Storage

The predictive ability for off-flavor development and quality change of ground beef was evaluated using a microbial time temperature indicator (TTI). Quality indices such as off-flavor detection (OFD) time, color, pH, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB) counts, and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts were measured during storage at 5, 10, 15, and 25 C, respectively. Arrhenius activation energies (Ea) were estimated for temperature dependence. The Ea values for TTI response (changes in titratable acidity (TA)), VBN, AMB counts, LAB counts, and freshness, which is defined based on OFD time for quality indices of ground beef, were 106.22 kJ/mol, 58.98 kJ/mol, 110.35 kJ/mol, 116.65 kJ/mol, and 92.73 kJ/mol, respectively. The Ea of microbial TTI was found to be closer to those of the AMB counts, LAB counts, and freshness. Therefore, AMB counts, LAB counts, and freshness could be predicted accurately by the microbial TTI response due to their Ea similarity. The microbial TTI exhibited consistent relationships between its TA change and corresponding quality indices, such as AMB counts, LAB counts, and freshness, regardless of storage temperature. Conclusively, the results established that the developed microbial TTI can be used in intelligent packaging technology for representing some selected quality indices of ground beef.