Shelf Life of Chicken Meat Balls Submitted to Sous Vide Treatment

The objective of this study was to investigate the appropriate temperature for processing storage of chicken meatballs made of minced chicken meat with the sous vide method. The chicken meatballs were prepared and separated into four experimental groups according to the application of heat treatment (10 and 20 minutes) and storage time (+2 and + 10 degrees C). Sensory, microbiological (total aerobic mesophilic bacteria, total psychrotrophs, lactic acidbacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Clostridiumperfringens, Listeria spp.), chemical (pH, thiobarbituric acid), color (L*, a*, b* values), and texture profile analyses were performed on meatball samples. Cl. perfringens and Listeria spp. were not detected in meatball samples during the storage period. Samples cooked at 10 minute and stored at + 2 degrees C the highest count of total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (p<0.05). For lipid oxidation, interaction was observed between cooking time and storage temperature, with higher TBARs values for samples stored at 10 degrees C, while cooking time and storage temperature showed no influence on the color and textural analysis parameters. For the treatments evaluated, cooking time x storage temperature seem affect more microbiological and chemical parameters than color and textural parameters of chicken meatballs.