The Influence of Storage Temperature and Packaging Technology on the Durability of Ready-to-Eat Preservative-Free Meat Bars with Dried Plasma

Abstract

Food business operators must include the results of shelf life testing in their HACCP plan. Ready-to-eat preservative-free meat products enriched with blood plasma are an unfathomable area of research in food safety. We tested modified atmosphere (80% N2 and 20% CO2) and vacuum packaged RTE preservative-free baked and smoked pork bars with dried blood plasma for Aerobic Plate Count, yeast and mould, lactic acid bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriaceae, Escherichia coli, and Campylobacter spp., and the presence of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. during storage (temperatures from 4 to 34 °C) up to 35 days after production. The obtained data on the count of individual groups of microorganisms were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and statistically tested (Student’s t-test with the Bonferroni correction); for temperatures at which there were statistically significant differences and high numerical variability, the trend of changes in bacterial counts were visualised using mathematical modelling. The results show that the optimal storage conditions are refrigerated temperatures (up to 8 °C) for two weeks. At higher temperatures, food spoilage occurred due to the growth of aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and mould. The MAP packaging method was more conducive to spoilage of the bars, especially in temperatures over 8 °C.