Quality and shelf life of cooked sausages at chilling and super chilling storage

Abstract

The present study evaluated the effects of chilling and super chilling on the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory quality of cooked chicken sausages during storage.Significant (P < 0.01) changes in pH, moisture, free fatty acids, thiobarbituric acid, and tyrosine values were observed with increasing storage time with super chilling showing greater stability and slower deterioration than chilling.Microbiological analysis revealed significant (P < 0.01) increases in total plate counts, psychrophilic and yeasts and molds, though super chilling effectively delayed proliferation and extended microbial acceptability by 1-2 weeks compared with chilling.Sensory attributes including appearance, flavor, juiciness, texture and overall acceptability scores declined progressively during storage.However, super chilled sausages maintained significantly higher scores and remained acceptable up to 28 days whereas chilled sausages were acceptable only up to 14 days.The findings demonstrate that super chilling is superior to conventional chilling, effectively retarding physicochemical and microbial deterioration while preserving sensory quality and extending the shelf life of chicken sausage.