Effect of natural antioxidants and vacuum packaging on the quality of buffalo meat nuggets during refrigerated storage.

Buffalo meat nuggets (BMN) were incorporated with 500 ppm sodium ascorbate, 10 ppm α-tocopherol acetate and 0.5% sodium tripolyphosphate while processing. There were three experimental groups of BMN, namely control aerobic packaged (CAP), treated aerobic packaged (TAP) and treated vacuum packaged (TVP), refrigerated and stored at 4 °C. It was observed that the treated samples (TAP and TVP) had significantly (p < 0.05) higher pH, W-B shear force, moisture and protein contents, sensory attributes and lower free fatty acids content in comparison to CAP samples. Vacuum packed nuggets (TVP) had significantly (p < 0.05) lower free fatty acid content, higher lactobacilli and total anaerobe counts and markedly higher scores for flavour and overall palatability, even at the 25th day of storage. Product quality reduced as storage time increased. Use of natural antioxidants and vacuum packaging extended the shelf life of BMN from 10 to 30 days under refrigerated storage.