STRATEGIES FOR PROLONGING THE SHELF LIFE OF MINCED BEEF PATTIES

The study of different strategies for prolonging the shelf life of fresh minced beef patties was addressed in this work. Fresh minced beef was supplemented with thymol (THY) at levels of 250, 500 and 750 mg per kg of ground beef. Treated samples were packed using a high barrier film and stored in refrigerated conditions (4C) under ordinary atmosphere packaging and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) conditions for 16 days. The microbiological quality decay kinetic was determined by monitoring the following microorganisms: Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas spp., lactic acid bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta, coliforms and total psychrotrophic viable count. Results show that THY, working alone, was effective on coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae, whereas it does not seem to inhibit to a great extent the growth of the other microbial populations. On the other hand, an increased amount of THY, under MAP conditions, had better effects on the product quality, with a consequent prolongation of the shelf life.