EFFECT OF VARIOUS DOSES OF IONIZING RADIATION ON THE SAFETY OF MEAT SEMI-FINISHED PRODUCTS

The increase in the shelf life of perishable food products is one of the priority trends in the development of the food and processing industry. A study has been carried out of the effect of various doses of ionizing radiation on the safety of refrigerated semi-finished pork products packed in the modified atmosphere. The meat samples were processed singly by ionization at different doses - 8 kGy and 12 kGy with the help of a linear electron accelerator of a UELR-10-10S2 type with power of up to 10 MeV. The refrigerated pork neck on the bone, packed using modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and processed by ionization at doses of 8 kGy and 12 kGy, meets the requirements of the technical regulations of the Customs Union "On Food Safety" (TR TS 021/2011) and "On safety of meat and meat products" (TR TS 034/2013) for the entire storage period. The irradiation dose of 12 kGy leads to a slight color change, an increase in the acid and peroxide numbers and volatile fatty acids, but within the limits of the norm; a slight decrease in the moisture content with a high degree of correlation of the studied indicators. The indicators of microbiological safety of the meat semi-finished products processed by different irradiation doses are within the normal range. It has been established that the higher the irradiation dose, the lower the values of microbiological indicators. The organoleptic indicators are confirmed by histological studies. The radiation processing of meat semi-finished products allows us to prolong the shelf life of the meat semi-finished products packed using MAP more than 3 times. Based on the results of the studies, it is possible to recommend the processing of meat semi-finished products by ionization at a dose of 8 kGy to increase their shelf life.