Effect of Freeze and Re-freeze on Chemical Composition of Beef and Poultry Meat at Storage Period 4.5 Months (SP4.5)

Abstract

In the present study, two fresh meat types (beef and poultry) were frozen at -20°C thawed at room temperature, refrozen at -20°C and stored for zero time (SP0), 2.0 (SP2), and 4.5 months (SP4.5) and were evaluated for moisture, protein, fat, and ash contents at the end of each Storage Period (SP). We found that poultry meat had significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher moisture, protein, and ash, but less fat content than beef meat. Regardless of meat type, the moisture content decreased (P ≤ 0.05) with increased storage period. The opposite was true for the fat and ash meat compositions. When the interaction of meat type (MT) and SP was considered, beef meat had higher (P ≤ 0.05) moisture and fat contents than poultry meat. However, poultry meat was higher (P ≤ 0.05) in total protein content. Our study suggests that meat quality can be maintained for a prolonged time through storage at a constant low temperature.