Effect of radiation processing on the quality of chilled meat products

Effect of radiation processing on the shelf-life and safety of some ethnic Indian meat products like chicken chilly, mutton shammi kababs and pork salami during chilled storage was investigated. Radiation processing resulted in dose dependent reduction in microbial counts. A dose of 3 kGy was found to be optimal for the shelf-life extension. In all the three irradiated (3 kGy) meat products the shelf-life was extended by more than 2 weeks at 0–3 °C compared to the corresponding non-irradiated samples. Staphylococcus spp. were completely eliminated by irradiation at a dose of 2 kGy. Some increase in lipid peroxidation on irradiation was observed as measured by TBA assay but it did not affect the sensory attributes of the product.