Investigation of physicochemical properties, volatilome and microbial dynamics in goat meat under modified atmosphere and vacuum packaging
Rui Zhang, Jing Huang, Li Zhou, Wei Wang, Dayu Liu, Yin Zhang, Ting Bai, Daodong Pan, Lin Zhang, Shifeng Pan, Jiamin Zhang
Abstract
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) effectively preserves fresh meat. Our work investigated physicochemical properties, volatilome and microbial community dynamics in goat meat stored under different conditions: CO 2 -MAP (30 % CO 2 + 70 % N 2 ), O 2 -MAP (70 % O 2 + 30 % CO 2 ), CO-MAP (0.4 % CO + 30 % CO 2 + 69.6 % N 2 ) and vacuum packaging (VP). Goat meat in VP maintained the highest pH and TVB-N, while CO 2 -MAP meat exhibited the lowest pH, redness (a∗) and TBARS. O 2 -MAP meat showcased a fresh meat-like a∗ and the highest TBARS. Notably, CO-MAP meat stood out for superior quality, presenting moderate pH, the highest a∗, and the lowest levels of TVB-N, TBARS, cooking loss and aerobic plate counts. Fourteen key volatilomes, such as hexanal and 1-octen-3-ol in fresh goat meat, and ethyl 3-methylbutyrate in spoilt goat meat, significantly influenced the volatilome profile. Predominant spoilage bacteria in goat meat comprised Pseudomonas , Shewanella , Serratia and Lactococcus , with Pseudomonas, Lactococcus and Acinetobacter being associated with meat quality parameters like shear force, cooking loss and meat lightness. These spoilage bacteria were linked to key volatile compounds like hexanal, 2-methylbutanol and 3-methylbutyrate. This study provides novel insights into the relationship between bacteria, volatilome profile and spoilage processes in goat meat under VP and MAP.