title: Shelf life determination of sliced Portuguese traditional blood sausage--Morcela de Arroz de Monchique through microbiological challenge and consumer test.
abstract: Morcela de Arroz (MA) is a ready-to-eat blood and rice cooked sausage produced with pork, blood, rice, and seasonings, stuffed in natural casing and cooked above 90 °C/30 min. It is commercialized whole, not packed, with a restricted shelf life (1 wk/0 to 5 °C). The objective of this work was to establish sliced MA shelf life considering both the behavior of L. monocytogenes through a microbiological challenge test (MCT) and the consumer acceptability of MA stored: vacuum packed (VP), modified atmosphere packed (MAP: 80% CO2/20% N2 ), and aerobic packed (AP). The MCT was conducted inoculating ±3 log CFU/g of L. monocytogenes cell suspension on the MA slices. Packaged samples were stored at 3 ± 1 °C and 7 ± 1 °C until 20 d. At 3 ± 1 °C, L. monocytogenes behavior was not affected by packaging or storage time. At 7 ± 1 °C, the pathogen increased nearly 1 log CFU/g in the first 4 d. L. monocytogenes populations in AP were higher (P < 0.05) than in MAP. The pathogen may grow to hazardous levels in the 1st days if a temperature abuse occurs. Considering the acceptability by the consumers, the shelf life of MA stored at 3 ± 1 °C was 4.4 d for AP, 8.1 d for VP, and 10.4 d for MAP. The sensory shelf life established based on sensory spoilage is shorter than the shelf life to maintain the population of L. monocytogenes in safe levels.
authors: Dept. of Food Engineering, Inst. Superior de Engenharia, Univ. of Algarve, Campus da Penha, Estrada da Penha, 8005-139, Faro, Portugal; CEER - Biosystems Engineering, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors: Jorge A
authors: JA
authors: Pereira
authors: Pedro
authors: P
authors: Silva
authors: Teresa J S
authors: TJ
authors: Matos
authors: Luís
authors: L
authors: Patarata
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001272:Atmosphere; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003296:Cooking; D005516:Food Microbiology; D018857:Food Packaging / Q000379:methods; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D061353:Food Storage / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000254:growth & development*; D008461:Meat Products / Q000382:microbiology*; D013552:Swine; D013649:Taste; D013696:Temperature; D014618:Vacuum
keywords: Listeria monocytogenes; blood and rice sausage; microbiological challenge test; packaging; sensory shelf life