Effect Of Curing On The Physico -chemical And Microbial Quality Of Cured Cooked Rabbit Ham

Abstract

Rabbit meat is a highly digestible, tasty, low-calorie food, often recommended by nutritionists over other meats. The success of rabbits in contributing to the animal protein supply in developing countries is very much dependent on the acceptability of rabbit meat by local communities. However in Kenya, despite the increasing production and consumption of rabbit meat, there is little or no research work that has been done in this subsector in as far as food safety and product development is concerned. This has led to limited product diversification in the rabbit sub sector with little research being done on product safety and quality. Rabbit meat has therefore not penetrated the Kenyan conventional meat market dominated by beef, chicken and mutton. This study was carried out to assess the effect of different curing percentages on the sensory, microbial, proximate composition and shelf life quality of cured cooked rabbit ham. A total of 12 rabbits with similar genetic background and age were randomly selected and purchased from the University of Nairobi, Animal production Department and slaughtered. Rabbit ham was developed by curing using different curing salt percentages 0.6%, 0.9%, 1.2% and 1.5% ham sodium tripolyphosphate. Standard microbiological methods were used for isolation, enumeration and identification of bacteria; shelf life studies, proximate composition and a panel for sensory quality using a 7 point hedonic scale. Microbial count of the raw rabbit meat were 5.01 to 4.97 log10 cfu/g for Total viable counts, 1.25 to 0.09 log10 cfu/g for Escherichia Coli, 2.01 to 1.73 log10 cfu/g for Enterobacteriaceae, 1.93 to 1.81 log10 cfu/g for Staphylococcus aureus. Salmonella, Listeria monocytogens, Campylobacter, Clostridium perfringes were absent in the raw meat. Microbial count in the rabbit ham were 1.91 log10 cfu/g in the ham cured with 0.9 % and 2.0 log10 cfu/g in the ham cured with 1.5% sodium tripolyphophate in terms of Total viable counts. Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus (hygiene indicators), Salmonella, Listeria monocytogens, Campylobacter and Clostridium perfringes (Safety indicators) microorganisms were absent in the ham. There was no significant difference in terms of microbial quality in the different rabbit hams at p<0.05. The microbial counts were within the required microbiological limits of KEBS (KS2455:2013, KS59-2:2013). Proximate composition of the raw rabbit meat were 72.16 to 71.94 % moisture, 24.06 to 23.72 % fat, 0.54 to 0.52 % fatty acids, 0.8 ppm nitrates, 8.02 to 7.9 Kcal/g calorific value while nitrite was absent in the raw meat. The rabbit hams were 42.91 to 58.96 % moisture, 15.66 to 16.73 % fat, 1.40 % fatty acids, 358.01 to 358.12 ppm nitrates, 7.48 to 8.02 Kcal/g calorific value and 45.99 to 46.14 ppm nitrites. There was a significant difference between the raw rabbit meat and rabbit ham in terms of proximate composition at (p<0.05). In terms of sensory analysis the most acceptable formulation was the highest percentage cured ham which had a mean score of 6.10. There was significant difference in the sensory quality of the hams at p<0.05. In the shelf life study, peroxide values were 5.86 meq/Kg to 23.29 meq/Kg in the rabbit ham stored for 15 days. There was significant difference in the peroxide value of the hams at p<0.05. The present study demonstrated that the use of curing together with cooking significantly modified proximate composition, microbial, sensory and storageability of rabbit meat. Based on results, it is evident that curing is a beneficial technique in improving the quality characteristics and safety of rabbit meat. There is need to pursue an affirmative action-like policy in funding research on rabbits with the aim to improve product diversification, processing, production and commercialization of the same to curb food insecurity in Kenya. Key words: Curing, Texture, Sensory, Microbial, Chemical, Shelf life