SPOILAGE FLORA AND SHELF-LIFE OF DUCK CARCASSES STORED AT 2-DEGREES-C OR -1-DEGREES-C IN OXYGEN-PERMEABLE OR OXYGEN-IMPERMEABLE FILM

1. A comparison was made of ” oven ready ” duck carcasses stored at 2 or — 1 °C and wrapped in either a low-density oxygen-permeable polyethylene film or a heat-shrunk oxygen-impermeable film. 2. At spoilage the main organisms at 2 and -1 °C on the carcasses wrapped in the oxygen-permeable film were pseudomonads, producing unacceptable “off odours“ when their numbers were >108/cm2. This occurred in about 10 d at 2 °C but in about 19 d at — 1° C, 3. The effect of wrapping in the heat-shrunk oxygen-impermeable film was to delay or inhibit the growth of pseudomonads and thus extend the shelf-life by more than 50% at either temperature. The predominant organisms isolated from the spoiling carcasses were atypical lactobacilli and enterobacteria. 4. Sensory assessment of the carcasses stored at — 1 °C by a trained panel indicated that, although less obvious ” off odours” were produced by the micro-organisms growing on the carcasses wrapped in the impermeable film, differences were detected at 33 d when the numbers of bacteria reached about 107/cm2 whilst at 41 d the meat was described as rancid. © 1979, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.