Microbial and sensory characteristics of camel meat during refrigerated storage as affected by gamma irradiation

The present study was undertaken to assess the microbiological profile of fresh camel meat and the possibility of improving microbial quality and extending the refrigerated storage life of meat by using low-dose gamma irradiation. Camel meat samples were subjected to 0 (control), 1.5 and 3 kGy doses and stored at 3 +/- 1 degrees C. the microbial and sensory attributes were evaluated. Exposure to 1.5 kGy dose significantly reduced the initial counts of Aerobic Plate Counts (APCs), psychrophilic bacteria, Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), molds and yeasts, Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococci. Moreover, Pseudomonas, coliforms and Escherichia coli were below the detection levels. Irradiation at 3 kGy significantly reduced the initial counts of APCs LAB and Enterococci by 99.5, 93.5 and 93.9%, respectively. Pseudomonas, coliforms, S. aureus, L. monocytogenes and E. coli were not found at dose of 3 kGy during entire storage period, also psychrophilic bacteria and molds and yeasts were below the detection levels during 6 days of storage. This study shows that irradiation had no significant effects on the sensory attributes of camel meat. Refrigerated shelf-life of the meat irradiated at 1.5 and 3 kGy were 15 and 21 days, respectively, compared to 7 days for non-irradiated controls.