Effect of high carbon dioxide atmosphere packaging and soluble gas stabilization pre-treatment on the shelf-life and quality of chicken drumsticks

The effects of an aerobic modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) (70% CO₂, 15% O₂ and 15% N₂) with and without a CO₂ 3-h soluble gas stabilization (SGS) pre-treatment of chicken drumsticks were determined for various package and product quality characteristics. The CO₂ dissolved into drumsticks was determined. The equilibrium between CO₂ dissolved in drumsticks and CO₂ in head space was reached within 48h after packaging, showing highest values of CO₂ in SGS pre-treated samples. This greater availability of CO₂ resulted in lower counts of TAB and Pseudomonas in SGS than in MAP drumsticks. Package collapse was significantly reduced in SGS samples. The average of CO₂ dissolved in the MAP treatment was 567mg CO₂kg^-1 of chicken and, 361mg CO₂kg^-1 of chicken during the MAP treatment, in SGS pre-treated samples. This difference could be the quantity of CO₂ dissolved during SGS pre-treatment.These results highlight the advantages of using SGS versus traditional MAP for chicken products preservation.