Shelf-life evaluation of sliced lamb shoulders

Summary

​A storage trial of sliced lamb shoulders was undertaken to assess microbiological and sensory attributes.
The lamb utilised in this trail had previously been vaccum packed, typical of product destined for the Japanese market.
Lamb was sliced to a thickness of 4-5mm, packed in overwrap trays and stored under refrigerated conditions for up to four days.
Every day during the storage trial, the shoulders were tested for aerobic plate and lactic acid bacteria counts.
Sensory evaluations were undertaken each day, using an untrained Japanese sensory panel.
The results indicate that bacteria grew at a rate of about 0.42 log10 cfu/g per day on the sliced product.
The microbiological flora on the sliced product consisted predominantly of lactic acid bacteria. Sensory scores for smell, taste, texture and overall impression decreased by about half a score over the storage trial.
However, no relationship between microbilogy and sensory score was found and despite the high bacteria levels, product after four days was still in good condition.