Effect of modified atmosphere and vacuum packaging on some quality characteristics and the shelf-life of “morcilla”, a typical cooked blood sausage

The effect of modified atmosphere and vacuum packaging on the shelf-life of “morcilla”, a traditional cooked blood sausage, was investigated. A total of 99 “morcillas” were packaged under vacuum and in modified atmosphere using three different gas mixtures: 15:35:50/O2:N2:CO2 (atmosphere 1), 60:40/N2:CO2 (atmosphere 2) and 40:60/N2:CO2 (atmosphere 3), and stored during 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks at 4 °C. Shelf life evaluation was based on pH, water activity (aw), colour (CIE L*, a*, b*, C* and h*), TBARS formation and microbial counts. The results indicated that, in general, storage time affected (P < 0.05) all parameters whereas no significant differences were observed (P > 0.05) among packaging conditions. Based on the microbial counts, the shelf-life of “morcilla” would be greater than 8 weeks for all packaging conditions. Samples packaged with high CO2 concentrations (40:60/N2:CO2) showed the lowest values of TBARS at the end of storage.