Effects of UV-C Irradiation and Vacuum Sealing on the Shelf-Life of Beef, Chicken and Salmon Fillets

Abstract

One-third of the world’s food supply is lost, with meat being a major contributor to this loss. Globally, around 23% of all meat and 35% of all seafood products are lost or wasted. Meats and seafood products are susceptible to microbial spoilage during processing, storage, and distribution, where microbial contamination causes significant losses throughout the supply chain. This study examined the efficacy of UV-C irradiation and vacuum-sealing in preventing microbiological deterioration in beef, chicken, and salmon fillets. The samples were sterilized using a constant UV-C irradiation dose of 360 J/m2 and stored under a reduced pressure of 40 kPa. A microbiological analysis was conducted daily to examine the microbial contamination, which included counting the colonies of Pseudomonas spp., aerobic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Salmonella, and Escherichia coli, as well as monitoring the increase in pH levels. The results demonstrated a statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) in the aerobic bacteria counts between the storage conditions and storage days in all samples, which is a primary indicator of microbial spoilage. In contrast, the differences varied in the Pseudomonas spp. and LAB counts between the storage conditions and storage days, and there was no significant difference (p < 0.05) in the pH levels between the storage conditions. The results indicate that the combination of UV-C irradiation and vacuum sealing effectively inhibits microbial growth and extends the shelf-life of beef, chicken, and salmon fillets by 66.6%.