Effect of comminution temperature on the quality and shelf life of buffalo meat nuggets R. Thomas * , A.S.R. Anjaneyulu, Y.P. Gadekar, H. Pragati, N. Kondaiah Division of Livestock Products Technology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, UP 243 122, India Abstract Buffalo meat nuggets were prepared after equilibrating the ingredients to temperatures of 4, 10, 25 and 37 °C. Following comminution for 6 min, the temperatures of the batters were 16.3, 19.3, 27.4 and 34.8 °C and their pH and emulsion stability ranged from 6.18 to 6.29 and 88.76 to 95.33%, respectively. Increasing temperature of comminution led to increased cooking losses and TBARS values. However, even at 37 °C, complete emulsion breakdown did not occur as the cooking losses were still only about 12%. Texture profile analysis revealed an inverse relationship between chopping temperature and shear force. Sensory evaluation indicated that, at least up to com- minution temperatures of 27.4 °C, the nuggets were acceptable. The aerobic mesophilic bacterial counts were higher for the nuggets made from batters with higher temperatures but, even at the 21st day of storage, the counts were well below the levels likely to cause spoilage in meat products. Results suggested that comminuted buffalo meat products can be manufactured in conditions where refrigeration is not available, by a preservation system (mostly chemical) to decrease microbial and chemical spoilage and also by devising an efficient mar- keting system for their early distribution (preferably 14 days). Keywords: Buffalo meat; Nuggets; Comminution temperature; Quality; Shelf life 1. Introduction Buffalo meat production in India contributes to about 53% of world meat production, about 85% of total meat being exported from India. The meat is primarily produced from spent animals when their productive life is at an end. Such meat is profitably utilized by comminuting, for the production of a variety of buffalo meat products, such as patties (Pati, Anjaneyulu, & Kondaiah, 1992), burgers (Modi, Mahendrakar, Narasimha Rao, & Sachindra, 2003), loaves (Suresh, Mendiratta, & Kondaiah, 2004), sausages (Sachindra, Sakhare, Yashoda, & Narasimha Rao, 2005) and nuggets (Thomas, Anjaneyulu, & Konda- iah, 2006). Several studies have been carried out on the effect of gross composition, ingredient quality and process- ing variables on a whole range of comminuted meat prod- ucts. One of the most studied variables has been the temperature at which comminution take place. The reported results, however, are not consistent. Helmer and Saffle (1963) studied the effects of chopping temperatures on emulsion stability and reported that breakdown occurred in emulsions chopped at 16 °C or higher. How- ever, no breakdown occurred in emulsions chopped at 32 °C, cooled to 4 °C with dry ice and rechopped at 16 °C. Swift, Lockett, and Fryer (1961) reported that the amount of fat emulsified decreased with an increase in final chopping temperature. The range of temperature was 18- 48 °C with maximum emulsification occurring at 18 °C. Results of most of the earlier works supported the conten- tion that optimal stability was achieved at a final comminu- tion temperature of 16 °C (Colmenero, Carrascosa, Barreto, Fernadez, & Carballo, 1996; Hensley & Hand, 1995; Jones & Mandigo, 1982; Townsend, Ackerman, Wit- nauer, Palm, & Swift, 1971; Webb, Rao, Howell, Barbour,