Lect 4 : Food Spoilage Pt 2 Flashcards
What is food spoilage often associated with?
it is often associated with organoleptic defects
What kinds of organoleptic (sensorial) defects can arise from food spoilage? [6]
TASTE
1. Acidity
2. Changes in taste
SMELL
3. off odours
SIGHT
4. swelling packaging due to gas formation
5. Slime formation
6. Discolouration
RECALL : What are the 4 different spoilage indicators?
- Total colony count (aerobic / anaerobic)
- NOTE : cant have total count of BOTH aerobic and aerobic bacteria bc the envt (in packaging or storage) either have or dont have oxygen to inhibit growth of certain MO - Total aerobic/anaerobic count of SPORE-FORMING BACTERIA AND/OR SPORES
- LAB
- Yeast
Food spoilage show correlation with sensorial defects. As total colony count increases, what sensorial defects are observed?
Off odours are smelt first –> when grow to even higher levels, observe slime formation
How does initial level of contamination affect rate of food spoilage?
The higher the inital level contamination from MAINLY PSYCHOTROPHIC bacteria, the faster the rate of spoilage
MEAT AND POULTRY
What are th intrinsic factors of meat which causes microbial growth?
◡̈ High wter activity
◡̈ High in protein
◡̈ High in vit and minerals
◡̈ netural pH of 5.5-7.0
limiting factor for bacteria
ᴖ̈ Low in carbs (and therefore glucose)
MEAT AND POULTRY
The spoilage process of FRESH meat stored in AIR occurs in 2 steps. What are they?
- Depletion of glucose (rate of depletion determines the rate of spoilage)
- Degradation of amino acids (since MO need to digest amino acids to be able to utilise them) –> leading to metabolites such as amines and H2S.
MEAT AND POULTRY
There are 2 main sensorial defects in fresh meat stored in air. At how many CFU can these sensorial defects be observed?
- Off-odours at 10^7 CFU
- Slime formation at 10^8 CFU AND water activity of ±0.99
- Discoloration
- green slime forms due to H2S ad myoglobin reacting
(myoglobin : oxygen and iron binding protein which stores O2)
MEAT AND POULTRY
There is a possibility that fresh meat turns brown in air. Is this a sign of discoloration (i.e. a sign of spoilage)? Explain
No, fresh meat turning brown is not considered discoloration and not considered spoilage.
Brown meat is due to :
1. less O2 in meat
2. oxidation of Fe2+ in oxymyoglobin to Fe3+ metmyoglobin
MEAT AND POULTRY
What temperatures can meat spoil at and what kind of MO causes the spoilage at those specific temps? [2]
- < 7°C : caused by psychrotrophic bacteria [SPA]
- Shewanella
- Pseudomonas
- Acinetobacter-Moroxella - Spoilage at 10°C [LE]
- LAB
- Enterobacteriaceae
MEAT AND POULTRY
What is the name of meat that is associated with :
- low pH (lower than normal meat)
- high pH (higher than normal meat)
- PSE meats (pink, soft, extrusive)
- DFD meats (dark, firm, dry)
pH > 6.2
MEAT AND POULTRY
How does the pH in PSE and DFD meat correlate with levels of glycogen in pigs before slaughter?
PSE has lower pH –> more H+ –> there is more glycogen before slaughter –> after slaughter, muscles undergo postmortem and still respire mainly anaerobically –> more glycogen reduced into glucose which is further reduced into lactic acid by LAB
- pigs were stressed before slaughter –> causing glycogen to increase
DFD meats : glycogen levels were low before slaughter
- due to long-term exhaustion of pigs, causing glycogen to be converted into energy
- less glycogen = less glucose = less lactic acid = less H+ = lower pH
MEAT AND POULTRY
How can fresh meat be preserved? What is the idea behind it?
Vacuum packaging
- Idea is to remove most of the oxygen, with ~21% of oxygen left and more CO2 –> prevent aerobic bacteria from growing (Psuedomonas, Acinetobacter-Moraxella)
MEAT AND POULTRY
If vaccum packaged meat is stored after some time, what will be the composition of O2 / CO2 in it?
- Residual O2 will be used up to <1% due to tissue respiration in meat (still possible! but v little)
- CO2 : 10-40% (increase as it is a product of tissue respiration)
MEAT AND POULTRY : FROZEN MEAT
What kind of spoilage is possible at -5°C to -10°C, -18°C and -24°C for frozen meats?
-5°C to -10°C : mould growth, black spots
-18°C
- no microbial spoilage
- enzymatic spoilage
-24°C
- no enzymatic and microbial spoilage possible
MEAT AND POULTRY : RAW CURED MEAT
What 2 strategies are used to cure raw meat? What is the rationale behind it?
salting + drying
Rationale : reduce water activity to inhibit microbial growth
MEAT AND POULTRY : RAW CURED MEAT
What 3 kinds of MO can still survive on raw cured meat?
- LAB – highly competitive!!
- Salt tolerant micrococci
- Moulds – can grow at low water activity
[LSM]
MEAT AND POULTRY
What is the benefit of raw cured meat? [in terms of sensory property]
it has a better taste
- the action of microbes on raw cured meat is more lipolytic (break down lipid) rather than proteolytic==> fatty acid to provide flavour
- recall : break down of protein eventually results in degradation of amino acid into H2S –> may cause off flavour
MEAT AND POULTRY
What are the 3 sensorial defects that tells us the raw cured meat is spoilt?
- off odour
- slime formation
- off flavour
FISH, SHELLFISH AND MOLLUSCs
What are the intrinsic factors that make seafood vulnerable to microbial spoilage?
◡̈ high in vit and minerals
◡̈ high water activity
◡̈ neutral pH
◡̈ RICH IN N-COMPOUNDS!
- Protein
- Protein free N fraction : TMAO (Trimethylamine oxide) , urea, peptides, a.acids, nucleic acids)
CARBOHYDRATES
◡̈ for molluscs : high
ᴖ̈ for shellfish and fish : low
FISH, SHELLFISH AND MOLLUSCs
Why is a non-protein N fraction beneficial for MO survival?
It is smaller than proteins, making them easier to digest
FISH, SHELLFISH AND MOLLUSCs
What is the main type of MO that causes spoilage in seafood? (bacteria/yeast/mould)
What 4 species of MO cause spoilage?
- Bacteria (95% of spoilage is bacterial, 5% autolytic aka enzymes found in seafood)
[PASE]
Pseudomonas
Acinetobacter-Moraxella
Schewanella
Enterobacteriaceae
FISH, SHELLFISH AND MOLLUSCs
What are the 2 phases of spoilage in seafood, specifically fish and shellfish?
- Breakdown of TMAO (regulates osmotic pressure in seafood) into TMA (1 O atom removed)
- Break down of amino acids
FISH, SHELLFISH AND MOLLUSCs
What is the important spoilage inidcator in seafoods, and how to calculate?
What are its units
Total volatile bases (TVB) = TMA + DMA (dimethyl amine) + amines + ammonia
units : milligrams (mg) of N / 100g of meat
FISH, SHELLFISH AND MOLLUSCs
Do shellfish spoil faster or slower than fish? Why?
faster
they contain more non-protein N –> spoil faster as it is more easily digested compared to if there was more protein
- but provides fresh, less fishy, umami flavour
FISH, SHELLFISH AND MOLLUSCs
Molluscs contain no TMAO. True or False?
True