Stability Assessment of Papaya and Ginger Blend Meat Tenderizer

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the shelf life of a meat tenderizer formulated from papaya-ginger (1:1) under room temperature (25oC) for six (6) months. The physiochemical properties: colour, pH, and titratable acidity of the tenderizer were assessed on a monthly basis based on the AOAC 988.13 method, AOAC, 2000 method 981.12, and AOAC, 2000 method 942.15, respectively. Furthermore, the microbial quality of the tenderizer was determined based on the ISO 7218:2007 (E) protocol. Based on the collected data, the studied parameters were determined to be: pH ranged from 3.81 to 6.02; titratable acidity (0.0375% to 0.2325%); colour ranged from 0.3005 to 0.339 for yellow and 0.297 to 0.341 for red. The total microbial count ranged between 1.8×102 CFU/ml and 42×103 CFU/ml. The ginger-papaya blend meat tenderizer during the storage period was observed to have significant variation in total bacteria count and physico-chemical properties (titratable acidity and content of reducing sugars). Other studied parameters, such as coliform bacteria, were not significantly different during the storage period. It was determined that the developed meat tenderizer can last up to six months from the day of manufacturing.