Effect of xanthan gum treatment on the shelf-life enhancement of retorted meatballs (Goshtaba): A traditional meat product of India

The quality of the meatballs (Goshtaba) deteriorates during storage owing to textural loss, lipid oxidation, and microbial activity. These deteriorations increase during storage, thereby lowering the quality and consumer acceptability of the product. Thus the present study evaluated the influence of xanthan gum and retorting process in preventing these deteriorations in meatballs. The elastic modulus of gum-treated meat paste was greater than the loss modulus values owing to higher cross-linking between peptide and polysaccharide chains. The cooking loss of goshtaba samples were 4.15 %, 3.50 %, 3.30 %, and 3.0 % for X (0.0), X (0.3), X (0.6), and X (0.9) samples respectively. The malonaldehyde content as a major lipid oxidation product was below the permissible limits of 2 mg/kg for both xanthan-treated and control goshtaba samples. The textural quality of the gum-treated product was well retained during storage compared to control samples. In microbiological analysis both treated and control goshtaba samples were free of a microbial count, indicating retorting as an efficient thermal method of processing and shelf stability of the developed product. The X (0.6) samples showed the best results as per the overall acceptability of products concerned during the storage period of 3 months.