Irradiation of Korean Beef for the Improvement of Hygienics and Quality Preservation

Gamma irradiation was applied to Korean beef to improve the hygienics and quality preservation. The effective dose of irradiation was 3 kGy for the sterilization of the initially contaminated microorganisms. After 8 weeks of storage at , no growth of the microorganisms were observed in the samples irradiated above 5 kGy. The pH was slightly increased as storage period increased. However, no significant change in pH was observed by gamma irradiation. The acid value of beef during storage at was increased rapidly with the elapse of the storage period in both nonirradiated and irradiated samples, but that of the 3 kGy irradiated samples increased more slowly than the nonirradiated. VBN value increased more rapidly in nonirradiated sample than the irradiated during storage. Especially VBN value of the nonirradiated sample was four fold higher than that of the 3 kGy irradiated sample after 8 weeks of storage at . No significant differences in the components of fatty acid were observed by gamma irradiation. The amount of released free amino acid was increased during storage and was not significantly affected by gamma irradiation.