Shelf-life Extension of Pork Patties Stored at 4°C under Modified Atmosphere Packaging Using Cultured Corn Sugar and Vinegar

Introduction: Fresh pork patties stored at 4°C are susceptible to support the growth of spoilage microorganisms which can be detrimental for the shelf life of the product. The incorporation of antimicrobial compounds which can inhibit or slow down the growth of spoilage organisms is important. Verdad® N16 is a corn sugar fermentation-based product which contains organic acids, small peptides and residual sugars, and vinegar and has excellent antimicrobial properties. 

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of Verdad^®N16 on the shelf life extension of fresh pork patties packed under Modified Atmosphere conditions (MAP) and stored at 4°C.

Methods: Ground pork shoulder (95%), water (5.0%) and Verdad® N16 were mixed for 10 min. One hundred g of the mixed pork was formed into a patty and MAP packaged (80% O₂, 20% CO₂) and stored at 4°C. Samples were analyzed on days 0, 7, 9 and 12 for aerobic plate, lactic acid bacteria, Psychrotrophs and Enterobacteriaceae counts individually using conventional plating methods.

Results: Fresh pork patty with no antimicrobial exhibited fastest microbial growth. Addition of Verdad^® N16 resulted in APC log CFU/g increases of 2.67, 1.68 and 2.10 log CFU/g for 2.0%, 2.5% and 3.0% concentrations, respectively.  Verdad® N16 addition suppressed the growth of Enterobacteriaceae at all the tested concentrations while in the control treatment, Enterobacteriaceae counts reached > 7 log CFU/g counts on day 9.  Verdad® N16 at all tested concentrations slowed down the growth of psychrotrophic bacteria to < 6 log CFU/g at 12^th day of storage. LAB counts exceeded > 5 log CFU/g at the 12^th day of storage for all the treatments including the control sample.

Significance: This research substantiates the antimicrobial performance of Verdad^® N16 in fresh pork patties. This research provides meat industry with an excellent antimicrobial to incorporate in the fresh meat for shelf life extension.