The Evaluation of Chemical and Microbial Spoilage Indicators in two Types of Burgers Produced from Fish and Meat During Three Months of Storage at -18°C

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the chemical and microbial spoilage indicators, such as TVN, Peroxide and the total count of mesophilic, Coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella bacteria in two types of fish and meat burgers during three months of storage at -18°C.Silver carp and red meat were immediately transferred to the laboratory of National Fish Processing Research Center (UNIDO), in the presence of ice, after purchase. After weighing, the raw paste was prepared along with other additives, according to the general method of burger production ‎from meat. Chemical and biological tests were based on the method recommended by Iranian National Standards Organization.‎ The results showed that with increasing storage time, TVB-N and peroxide were significantly increased in silver carp burgers, in cold storage,. The mean (±SD) of TVB-N of fish burger changed from 12.6±0.14 mg% at the time of production to 14.4±0.14 mg% and the peroxide changed from zero to 1.33±0.14 meq of oxygen at the end of three months of storage. Total count of mesophilic bacteria, coliform and staphylococcus aurous were lower in fish burgers compared to meat burger products, and for both treatments statistically significant difference was observed for the mean total count of mesophilic bacteria in the first month and for coliform, Staphylococcus aurous bacteria in the second month(p<0.05). Salmonella and E.coli were not observed in any of the treatments and at the end of the storage period they were in accordance with the standards recommended by Iranian National Standards Organization. Therefore, it can be concluded that fish burgers have longer cold storage period compared to burgers produced from red meat.