ISSN 2375-0863
African Journal of Poultry Farming ISSN 2375-0863 Vol. 9 (2), pp. 001-009, February, 2022. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Microbiological comparison of microwave and traditional thawing processes for poultry meat
Boubaker Krifi1, Mosbah Amine2* and Jaafar Makram2
1High Institute of Biotechnologies, Monastir, Tunisie.
2Military Laboratory of Food Analysis, Tunisian Army, Tunis, Tunisia. *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: 0021622697880. Fax: 0021673465404.
Accepted 16 September, 2019
Abstract
Health agencies official has been convinced of the efficiency of microwave based process mainly due to its bactericidal property and safety (non-ionizing radiation). However, many biotechnological aspects of this new method are still unknown and have raised safety concerns. This study aimed to validate the application of the thawing process of a large poultry meat block under high frequency microwave oven (2.45 Ghz within 60 s). Compared to the traditional thawing method (4°C for 48 h), we combined a visual observation and bacteriological analysis. The microwave thawing process was clearly faster than the conventional process, by at least three times. Both microwaved samples and control samples complied with the standard requirements, even after five weeks of microbial-screening of total mesophilic flora, fecal coliforms, sulfite-reducing anaerobic, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella. In the exposure to microwave, there was also less loss of water compared to the traditional method (2.33±0.21 l < 3.45±0.21 l). Although it showed overheating signs due to the high frequency used, it did not compromise the shelf life of the product. We validated the microbial-safety of the microwave thawing process; however, adjusting the frequency would result in better quality output and alleviate side effects in the frozen poultry.
Key words: Thawing process, poultry meat, chicken, microwave oven, quality management.