The study of freezing methods influence on the meat semi-finished products quality indicators

The method of combined low-temperature exposure was investigated, combining convective and con-tact methods, in comparison with submerged and convective freezing methods. The technological mode of freezing was selected: the temperature in the freezer is minus 40 °C, convective blowing for 8 minutes, final contact freezing for 108 minutes. Storage was carried out at a temperature of minus 18 °C for 6 months. The microbiological and physicochemical parameters of meatballs, influencing their consumer properties, were determined. Indicators KMAFAnM and BGKP did not exceed the permissible values for all studied samples of semi-finished meat products. The lowest bacterial contamination was in frozen meat-balls by submerged and combined methods due to the use of packaging materials before low-temperature processing. It was found that vacuum packaging reduced the bacterial contamination of products by 1.5 times. The values of peroxide and acid numbers, determined for all freezing methods, indicate a low rate of oxidation of lipids that are part of semi-finished products. The most intense oxidation processes occurred in the samples frozen without packaging by the convective method, since there is a carryover of some moisture in the surface of the product, its warming, and repeated growth of ice crystals. In the sensory evaluation of the test samples of prepared meat products that were frozen in the combined method, less moisture was released, and higher scores were obtained in the evaluation of taste. The investigated method of combined low-temperature exposure with the implementation of packaging operations before freezing is able to fully protect meat semi-finished products from oxidative and microbiological spoilage, thereby preserving their high consumer properties