Determination of the quality and shelf life of Sous vide cooked Turkey cutlet stored at 4 and 12ºC

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the quality and shelf life of sous vide turkey cutlet stored at 4 and 12ºC. Samples were packaged under vacuum into polyamide-polypropylene pouches, cooked using sous vide technology (65ºC/40 min), chilled at 3ºC and stored at 4 and 12ºC for 5 weeks. Microbial (TMAB, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, moulds and yeasts, Salmonella spp., L. monocytogenes, Cl. perfringens), physical-chemical (pH, water activity, TBARS, L*a*b* colour, texture profile analysis and shear force) and sensory (appearance, colour, odour, flavour, juiciness, chewiness and acceptance) parameters were determined. According to the results of mesophilic bacterial counts and sensory analysis, the shelf life of the sous vide turkey cutlet, cooked at 65ºC for 40 min, was determined as 28 days at 4ºC while 15 days at 12ºC. Salmonella spp., L. monocytogenes, Cl. perfringens were not detected in turkey cutlet samples during the storage period. It was detected that sous vide cooked provided convenient ready-to-eat foods and a long shelf life for turkey cutlet.