Abstract
This experiment was carried out to find out the effects of packing methods on shelf-life and hy-giene of breast and thigh meats in chicken. The carcass weights were about 1.6 kg per bird, and chilled by air spray method. The breast and thigh meats were packed by either vacuum or atmosphere packing methods. Samples were analyzed at 1, 4, 8, 12 and 16 wk after quick freezing at -45˚C for 35 min. Regardless of packing method. The thiobarbituric acid(TBA) values of thigh meats after 1 wk of storage were higher than those of breast meats. The TBA values of both treatments were increased as storage period extended. In addition, the TBA values of vacuum packed meats were lower than those of atmosphere packed meats. The VBN(volatile basic nitrogen) values, regardless of packing method, at 1 wk of storage were higher than those of breast meats. The VBN contents of breast and thigh meats after 16 wk of storage increased markedly, but failed to show significant difference between the two packaging methods. Total plate counts of breast and thigh meats were increased gradually as storage period extended, and the total plate count of breast meat was higher than that of thigh meat. The coliform bacteria were not detected until 16 wk after storage.
