Effect of gamma irradiation and retort processing on microbial, chemical and sensory quality of ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken pulav.
Effect of irradiation processing in combination with retort (thermal) processing on the shelf life and safety of ethnic Indian food products namely chicken pulav was investigated. Ready-to-eat chicken pulav was irradiated in air atmosphere at room temperature with 60Co gamma source and retort processed at F0 value of 3.0. Dosimetry was carried out using Ceric-Cerous dosimeter to determine the delivered dose to each sample and found to be in the range of 2.0 kGy to 5.0 kGy at a dose rate of 0.6 kGy/h with an accuracy of ± 5%. The combination processed chicken pulav was analysed for microbiological, sensory and chemical characteristics. Microbiological analysis indicated that irradiation in combination with retort processing has significantly reduced the microbial loads (P ˂ 0.05). The changes in chemical characteristics and sensory quality on storage were insignificant. The combination of irradiation with retort processing resulted in greater overall reduction in microbial loads, extended shelf life and improved organoleptic qualities.