Natural preservative properties of raisins in restructured goat meat (chevon) jerky

Abstract

Growing interests in natural and organic meat products have led to increasing application of fruits and vegetables, containing antimicrobial and antioxidant components as natural preservatives, in processed meats. The aim of this study was assessed the utilization of raisin as a natural preservative in goat meat (chevon), and thereby the impacts on quality parameters of restructured chevon jerky and its stability were evaluated. Incorporating 15% raisin increased (P < .01) darkness (lower CIE L*), but decreased (P < .01) redness and yellowness (lower CIE a* and b*) of chevon jerky. Furthermore, all instrumental color values of experimental jerky decreased (P < .01) over a 10-week storage period. Compared with jerky prepared with or without sodium nitrite (NaNO2), jerky prepared with raisin had significantly higher shear values, but lower water activity, pH and aerobic microbial counts. Furthermore, as the storage time progressed, pH values decreased (P < .01) in all jerky types, whereas the aerobic counts significantly increased. Either raisin or NaNO2 added to jerky decreased (P < .05) thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values, which were not changed over the 10-week storage. Raisin jerky scored lower (P < .01) in the sensory properties of color and overall acceptability than the cured jerky. However, texture and flavor sensory characteristics of raisin jerky were not differentiated from the cured jerky by the sensory panel. Consequently, raisin has potential to use as a natural preservative in processed meats and it may be possible to substitute raisins for nitrites in processed meats.