This study examined the effects of hot deboning and the irradiation of raw pork on the physicochemical properties of pork sausages. Pigs were deboned with a carcass (loin surfaces) temperature of 5℃ (cold) or 15℃ (hot). Each deboned raw pork loins were then irradiated at 0 kGy or 4 kGy. Emulsion-type sausages were prepared from each treated meat with other ingredients including fat, ice, salt, phosphate, and seasoning powder. Then sausage products were analyzed for their physiochemical properties and microbial spoilage up to 10 days. Emulsion stability of sausage products with hot deboning was better than the cold carcass up to three days. Sausage products with irradiated hot carcasses showed less cooking loss than from non-irradiated carcasses on day 10. Hardness, gumminess, and chewiness of the sausages decreased significantly with increasing storage time for all sausage products (p<0.05), but the sausage products with irradiated hot carcasses showed a smaller reduction compared with non-irradiated. Lipid oxidation was not significantly different in the sausage products with hot or cold deboning (p>0.05), but the sausage products from non-irradiated meats showed changes from 0.43 to 1.59 (MDA mg/kg of meat) in 10 days (p<0.5). Total plate count and E. coli count were significantly lower in the sausage products from irradiated meat (p<0.05). Finally, irradiating hot deboned meat at 4 kGy can be an excellent alternative for producing raw meat for sausages with promising microbiological and physicochemical properties.

Post-slaughtering storage of pork meat is important to improve the flavor and texture profile. Although irradiation of meat improves the keeping qualities of red meat, less work was done on the effect of quality in irradiated pork leg meat during post-slaughtering storage. Therefore, this study was done to compare low dosages of single beam irradiation treated pork leg meat on eating quality parameters over the nontreated meat stored at different storage temperatures. Freshly slaughter pig carcasses were brought to the irradiation unit for treatment. Pork leg meat was treated at 2 kGy with single beam. Treated (2 kGy) and non-treated pork leg meat were kept in three different temperatures as 2, 10 and 25°C for 1, 3 and 5 days and analyzed for cooking loss, shear force, color and nitrogenous flavor compounds. Cooking loss in day 5 in irradiated pork leg (30.29) was significantly lower than the control (33.27) (p<0.05). Shear force of treated (1.93) and non-treated (1.29) pork leg meat after day 5 had significant difference (p<0.05). “L*” and “b*” values of pork leg meat had significant difference at day 5 compared non treated leg meat (p<0.05) whereas the “a*” value was increased with storage time and temperature. Hypoxanthine level was significantly lower in pork leg meat at day 5 in treated (16.07) and non-treated (24.59) meats at 25°C (p<0.05) whereas the changes in AMP, IMP and Inosine was not significantly difference (p>0.05). As conclusion, post-slaughtering storage and irradiation with single beam of 2 kGy could ensure the meat quality of leg pork at even higher storage temperatures, with cooking loss, tenderness, flavor and the color which will be benefited in the processing industry.