The D(‐)lactic acid and acetoin/diacetyl as potential indicators of the microbial quality of vacuum‐packed pork and meat products

Abstract

The suitability of D(‐)lactic acid and/or acetoin/diacetyl as indicators of spoilage of vacuum‐packed meat and meat products has been studied. When pork was vacuum‐packed, these substances reached measurable amounts after storage for only about 10 days. Although microbial counts stabilized from the 20th day of storage, the D(‐)lactic acid and acetoin/diacetyl concentrations increased progressively. These substances could therefore be potential indicators of the storage time of vacuum‐packed pork. From a survey carried out with several vacuum‐packed meat products from the market, it was concluded that the D(‐)lactic acid content could be used as an indicator of the storage time of these products. No consistent results were obtained with acetoin/diacetyl.