Effect of Processing, Storage Days and Storage Temperatures on Lipid Oxidation and Palatability of Processed Snail Meat Products

The effect of processing methods, storage days (d) and storage temperatures on the lipid oxidation and palatability of processed snail meat products was carried out in this study. Samples of snail meat products were subjected to 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test for Malonaldehyde(MA) with water-TBA reagent as blank periodically at 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 d. Meat samples were served to trained panellists who evaluated the products based on colour, flavour, tenderness, juiciness and overall acceptance. The results showed that the unseasoned-fried product had the lowest lipid oxidation values 0.04, 0.13 and 0.19 mg malonaldehyde/kg meat in all the storage periods at 0-5, 10-20 and 25-30 d respectively. Lipid oxidation values of products stored for 10-20d were 0.2565, 0.3040 and 0.3548. Lipid oxidation values were lower in freezer stored product than refrigerated product at 0-20d. Lipid oxidation values increased with increasing storage days for all the products. The seasoned smoke-dried product had lower lipid values throughout the storage period than the seasoned fried product. The regression curve for colour was a = 5.282 and b = - 5.342 while acceptability was a = 4.455, b = -3.438. This relationship implies that TBA values give a strong estimate of colour and acceptability.

Practical Applications: Four different treatments were considered for evaluation; unseasoned fried (USF), seasoned fried (SF), seasoned oven- dried (SOD) and seasoned smoke-dried (SSD) and the products were kept under three storage conditions (room, fridge and freezer). The regression relationships between TBA values and the sensory attributes (colour and overall acceptance) of the products were evaluated. Our results suggest that cold storage and proper packaging retard the development of lipid oxidation in snail meat products. Smoke-drying with seasonings had lower lipid oxidation values than the seasoned fried product throughout the storage period. The shelf life of processed meat could be extended by smoke-drying and curing without adverse effect on the quality and overall acceptance of meat.