Physicochemical Properties of Pork Neck and Chicken Leg Meat under Various Freezing Temperatures in a Deep Freezer

Abstract This study was conducted to investigate the effects of freezing and storage temperature (−18°C, −50°C, and −60°C) on the physicochemical properties of pork neck and chicken leg meat in home-scale deep freezers. Pork neck was cut into a thickness of 3 cm (9×9×3 cm, 150 g), individually packed in air-containing packages, and stored at different temperature (−18°C, −50°C, and −60°C) for 6 months. Chicken leg meats were prepared (10 cm long, weighing 70 g) and packed in the same manner. Frozen samples were thawed at 2°C. Physicochemical properties such as thawing loss, cooking loss, water-holding capacity, color, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were evaluated. The samples frozen by deep freezing (−60°C) was favorable with respect to thawing loss, color, and VBN. Samples frozen at −60°C had lower values of thawing loss and VBN than those frozen at −18°C for all storage periods (p<0.05). Color parameters were more similar to those of fresh meat than to those of samples frozen at −18°C for 6 months. The TBARS of all samples were below 0.3 mg malondialdehyde/kg, thereby indicating oxidative stability of lipids. Consequently, deep freezing at −60°C may be acceptable for maintaining the quality of fresh pork neck and chicken leg meat for 6 months without deterioration.