Microbial populations of total aerobic bacteria -and coliforming bacteria, TBA, Hunter's color value, heme pigments, muscle protein solubility, cooking loss and shear force were investigated for evaluating the shelf life of chicken legs gamma-irradiated at doses of 1, 3, 5 and 10 kGy with air-contained and vacuum-packaged methods. The initial microbial populations decreased with gamma irradiation depending upon the dose, and microorganisms in the vacuum-packaged samples were inhibited more than those in the air-contained samples. TBA values were higher in the air-contained samples than in the vacuum-packaged samples. Hunter's L and a values of the surface and inside of the legs increased by gamma irradiation, showing a bright red color and the red color was maintained during the storage of both samples. The concentrations of oxymyoglobin among the heme pigments increased by gamma irradiation. Muscle protein solubility slightly increased by increasing the applied dose. There were no significant differences in the cooking loss and shear force values. In conclusion, the combination of gamma irradiation and vacuum-packaging could extend the shelf life of chilled chicken without deterioration of the quality.

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