Shelf-life della carne di suinetto sardo tradizionale e trattata termicamente confezionata sottovuoto

Roasted suckling pig is a traditional dish widely consumed all over the island of Sardinia and very appreciated by the tourists. Unfortunately, because of the resurgence of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Sardinia, the export of fresh pork meat and/or derived products has been banned. In the implementing act of the extraordinary eradication program of the ASF 2015-2017, issued by the Regional Government, some precautions needed to obtain the permission to export pork meat products are stated. One of these consists in applying a precooking heat treatment to the meat until reaching the temperature of 80°C in the whole mass. Exporting pork meat represents an important economic opportunity for the Sardinian operators of the sector that have shown great interest in testing the effectiveness and applicability of the heat treatment to guarantee the safety and quality of their products. The aim of this study was to assess, throughout the whole expected shelf-life at 4°C, samples of vacuum packed meat, monthly, from 0 to 150 days from the heat treatment. Therefore, five sides of piglet per sampling point were analysed, from a microbiological (counts of pathogens and spoilage bacteria), and chemical (lipid peroxidation) point of view, before cooking completion. After 40' in the oven at 210°C, sensory analysis (acceptance test) was performed to examine consumer liking. The results allow concluding that despite a microbial post-process contamination, quality and sensory acceptance of the product was not affected until 150 days of shelf-life. A post-lethality treatment should be assumed to reduce microbial contamination.