Effect of ethanol rinse, Lactobacillus fermentum inoculation, and modified atmosphere on ground chicken meat quality.

Ground chicken breast meat was prepared using combinations of the following treatments: ethanol rinse before grinding, inoculation with Lactobacillus fermentum after grinding, and modified atmosphere packaging in either 90% O(2) and 10% CO(2) or 90% N(2) and 10% CO(2). Control treatments included water rinse and noninoculation with L. fermentum. Packaged meat was refrigerated and sampled for various shelf-life quality indices on d 0, 3, and 6. The inoculation with L. fermentum had little or no effect on ground meat shelf life. The ethanol-rinsed meat had lower off-odor scores and lower microbial growth compared to nonethanol rinsed meat. The high-N(2) atmosphere maintained meat color better than the high-O(2) packaging, but there was no effect on microbial growth. The combination of ethanol rinsing and high-N(2) packaging extended ground chicken quality compared with meat rinsed in water and packaged in high O(2).