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ThesisItem Open Access TECHNOLOGY UPSCALING OF CERTAIN TRADITIONAL PORK PRODUCTS OF NAGALAND(College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati, 2018-12) SANGTAM, H. MOAAKUM; Laskar, S. K.Traditional pork products of Nagaland prepared with locally available plant based ingredients viz. Anishi, Silam and FDS (Fermented dried soya) were evaluated in the present study. Based on the popularity, a purposive survey was conducted in field level to evaluate the level of ingredients used and with an aim to refine and upscale the processing steps and to extend the shelf life of the products. Three formulations were prepared using pork with Anishi, Silam and FDS along with a control, prepared without adding the above ingredients. On the basis of pilot study, the level of incorporation for Anishi, Silam and FDS were selected as 5, 10 and 5 percent, respectively. The cooked products were packaged under two different systems viz. retort pouch and vacuum packaging. The retort pouched products were subjected to physicochemical, microbiological and sensory evaluation at ambient temperature (25-32oC) for 6 months whereas, the vacuum packaged products were evaluated at refrigeration temperature (4±1oC) for 15 days. The economics of products were also calculated. Under retort processing, the total heating time (min) was recorded to be highest in pork with FDS compared to control, pork with Anishi and Silam. The proximate composition i.e. percent moisture, crude protein, ether extract and total ash in retort pouch and vacuum packaging revealed highly significant (p<0.01) differences in control and the treated products. The pork with FDS revealed highest protein content in both retort and vacuum packaging. However, no significant differences were observed for different storage periods. For mean scores of pH, TBARS and tyrosine values highly significant (p<0.01) differences were observed among control and different product formulations and also during different storage periods. The TPC, coliform and yeast and mould were absent under retort pouch packaging during the entire storage period, conversely under vacuum packaging highly significant differences (p<0.01) were recorded in respect of TPC and psychrophilic count among control and all the treated products and at different storage periods. Coliform count was <3 and yeast and mould were absent in vacuum packaged products. The amino acid content in control and treated products were decreased with the increase in storage period. Highly significant (p<0.01) differences were observed in texture profile among control and the treated products as well as during different storage periods under retort pouch packaging. In respect of vacuum packaging significant (p<0.05) differences were observed during different storage periods among control and the treated products. Highly significant (p<0.01) differences were observed in colour profile under retort pouch and vacuum packaging in control and among the treated products and during storage period. The sensory evaluation showed highly significant (p<0.01) differences in appearance, flavour, juiciness, tenderness and overall acceptability in control and treated products and during storage period under retort pouch and vacuum packaging and revealed higher scores in pork with Silam and FDS compared to Anishi and control. The costs of productions were lower in all treated products compared to control under retort pouch and vacuum packaging. Based on the results obtained in the study it might be concluded that traditional pork products could be prepared economically by incorporating traditional ingredients like Anishi, Silam and FDS at 5, 10 and 5 percent levels using vacuum and retort packaging without any appreciable depreciation in nutritive values and sensory qualities till 15 days for vacuum packaging with refrigeration storage and for retort packaging till 180 days under ambient temperature.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF LOW CALORIE FAT REDUCED FERMENTED DAIRY PRODUCT(College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University Khanapara, Guwahati-781022, 2017-07) Bania, PriyankaA study was carried out to develop a low calorie fat reduced fermented dairy product. The experiments were conducted in the laboratories of the Department of Livestock Products Technology and the All India Coordinated Research Project on Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati-781 022. Strain NCDC 263 obtained from the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana-132 001 was used as starter culture. Low calorie, fat reduced misti dahi was prepared by replacing sucrose at 25, 50, 75 and 100% with either natural sweetener – honey or with artificial sweetener - sucralose. Effect of sugar replacement on pH and lactic acid content, proximate composition, microbiological quality, organoleptic properties and calorific value of misti dahi was studied. Acid production capacity of the starter culture showed decreasing values along with a corresponding increase in pH values of the dahi samples in the treatment groups. Results of the study on the proximate composition of misti dahi with varied concentrations of sugar, honey or sucralose revealed a gradual decrease in protein and total solids contents while an increase in moisture content was noted. Fat content of the products showed variable results. Total viable count showed an increase in honey added misti dahi while sucralose added products showed a gradual decrease in TVC. Yeasts and mould count was found to be below the minimum countable number of 25 per plate for all the treatment groups including the control. Coliform organisms were not detected in any of the samples. Sensory evaluation of the low calorie, fat reduced misti dahi samples was done for various eating quality attributes like appearance, colour, body and texture, flavour and taste by a semi-trained panel. Results of the study showed that the misti dahi containing 25% honey was rated best for flavour, taste and overall acceptability. The samples of the control group enjoyed superior ratings for appearance and body and texture. Samples of the T8 group scored the lowest ratings for overall acceptability. Calorific value of all the treatment groups was found to be lower than that of the control group (97.33±1.33). Among the treatment groups, the least calorific value was calculated in the samples of T8 group (56.26±2.07) and among the treatment groups the samples of the T1 group had the highest calorific value (94.80±3.63). On the basis of low fat content of 2.96±0.22% and superior eating quality characteristics, treatment group T1 containing 25% honey and 75% sucrose is recommended and a suitable protocol for commercial production of misti dahi has been proposed.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF CHICKEN JALEBI-A READY-TO-EAT MEAT SNACK(College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University Khanapara, Guwahati-781022, 2017-07) Doley, Preeti; Hazarika, M.The study was conducted in the department of LPT, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara. Chicken jalebis were prepared by incorporating 23% non meat ingredients ( Black gram flour, Bengal gram flour, corn flour, rice flour, semolina flour) at different proportions with 55% chicken (Broiler meat) to find out the best formulation without affecting the physico-chemical, microbial and organoleptic qualities of the product. A total of five batches of chicken jalebi comprising of three different formulations in each batch were prepared. Non meat ingredients were fermented for 24hrs with curd at room temperature. Chicken was collected from local market, deboned, minced and processed. Different formulations of chicken jalebi batter were prepared by mixing broiler minced meat with fermented non meat ingredients, spices, oil, salt and ice to form a stable emulsion. The batter is then stuffed in a conical shaped plastic packet and pressed in such a manner to give a jalebi shape and then fried in refined sunflower oil at 180±5ᵒC for 5-10mins. One part of the chicken jalebis was immersed in tomato sauce, prepared from tomato magi sauce with little modification and other part was kept as such and then different parameters such as % cooking loss, emulsion stability, pH, proximate composition, organoleptic qualities, bacterial quality, including cost of production were evaluated. The results of the investigation were summarised as follows: Emulsion stability of chicken jalebi incorporated with different non meat ingredients (Black gram flour, Bengal gram flour, corn flour, rice flour, semolina flour) were found to be highly stable. Percent cooking loss was found to be highest in T1 sample incorporated with bengal gram flour, black gram flour and corn flour and lowest in T2 sample with black gram flour, bengal gram flour, rice flour and corn flour. The percentages of moisture, fat, protein, ash were found to decrease with addition of sauce. Percent sauce absorption was found to be highest in T1 sample. The result with respect to pH of chicken jalebi has shown that T2 has the lowest pH. The pH decreased with addition of tomato sauce which is acidic in nature. The bacterial counts (TVC) at 0 hr was found to be nil in all treatments groups, however, after 24hrs of storage at room temperature, significant growth was recorded to extent of 101 cfu/g and the highest growth was recorded in T1 samples with sauce. Sensory evaluation revealed that T2 sample with sauce added was highly preferred when compared to other products. The cost of production when calculated, it was found that T1 without sauce was the cheapest (Rs.223.00) followed by T2 without sauce (Rs. 224.00), T3 without sauce (Rs. 225.00), T1 with sauce (Rs. 239.00), T2 with sauce (Rs. 240.00) and T3 with sauce (Rs 241.00)/Kg. The study revealed the fact that chicken jalebi which is an innovative meat snack may be successfully prepared with right proportion of meat and non meat ingredients to fulfil the demand of the meat consumers.ThesisItem Open Access EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT SMOKING METHODS ON CERTAIN QUALITY ATTRIBUTES OF PORK SAUSAGE(College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University Khanapara, Guwahati-781022, 2017-07) Bhuyan, Debajit; Das, AnkurAn experiment was conducted by employing conventional as well as application of commercial liquid smoke @ 3%, 5% and 7% to produce smoked pork sausages with the best eating and keeping quality attributes. The sausages were prepared as per a predesigned programme of work. Altogether 5 batches of sausages were prepared and these were evaluated on 1st, 5th, 10th and 15th days of storage for various important quality indicating parameters including the estimation of production cost. The highest ES (ml of oil/100g emulsion) was recorded for the control and T1 groups (1.88±0.12) of sausages while the lowest ES (3.2±0.10) was observed in the T2C formulations. In terms of % CL, the T1 formulation recorded the highest (16.42±0.52) while the lowest values were recorded for the control formulation (5.58±0.46). Statistical analysis of the data showed highly significant differences (p<0.01) among the treatments for both the parameters. The control and T1 formulation recorded the lowest pH (nonsignificant) in the sausage emulsion, while finished sausages of T1 formulation recorded the lowest pH with significant difference (p<0.05) within the group. The mean aw recorded on the 1st day of production in the sausage emulsion and the finished sausages were almost static and did not reveal any significant difference, while there was a gradual increase in the TBARS values of the finished sausages from the beginning till the end of the experiment. The lowest TBARS values were recorded by sausages of T2A and T2C formulation (0.24±0.001) on 15th day of storage with significant difference (p<0.01) amongst the treatments and also within the various days of preservation. The highest % moisture, % CP, % EE and % TA was recorded for T2C (64.16±0.31), T2A (19.57±0.54), T1 (21.66±0.98) and control (1.29±0.12) group of sausages. The % moisture and % EE content of the sausages differed significantly (p<0.01) while no significant differences (p>0.05) were observed in terms of % CP and % TA content. In terms of TPA analysis, the highest scores for hardness, chewiness, cohesiveness and resilience were recorded by the sausages of T1 formulations, while the highest scores for fracturability and springiness were recorded by the sausages of control and T2B formulation. T1 formulation also recorded highest shear force values (1.023±1.75) with significant different (p<0.05) amongst the treatments. All the sensory parameters like appearance, colour, flavour, texture, juiciness and overall acceptance of the control as well as the treated sausages exhibited a declining trend from the very 1st day till the end of the experiment. It was observed that beyond 5th day of refrigerated storage, all the sausage samples failed to earn satisfactory ratings from the panel members. However, the CS and LS treated sausages scored comparatively better than those from control group. Statistical analysis of the data on sensory parameters reveled significant differences (P<0.01) in the control as well as in the treated formulations at different periods of storage. The mean TVPC and TPC (log cfu/g) of the smoked pork sausages exhibited significant differences (P<0.01) between the treatment groups and also amongst the storage periods while in terms of Y&M counts no significant differences were observed. There was a gradual increase in the mean TVPC, TPC and Y&M counts of the sausages with the progress of the storage periods. The mean TVPC counts on 15th day of study were recorded to be 4.17±0.02, 5.43±0.06, 5.24±0.04, 5.31±0.01 and 5.23±0.01 for control, T1, T2A, T2B and T2C sausages, while the TPC and Y&M counts for T1 sausages were found to be below the countable range throughout the storage periods. The colititre count in respect of pork sausages prepared with conventional smoking as well as by 8 using liquid smoke at various concentrations did not reveal any growth for the entire period of study. Though the smoked pork sausages were found to be within the acceptable limit from the lipid oxidation (TBARS Values) and microbiological safety point of view till 15th day of refrigerated storage; from the sensory analysis, it was evident that panel members almost rejected the sausages irrespective of any treatments employed after 5th day of storage. The cost of production of smoked pork sausages estimated on the basis of prices of raw materials, cost of smoking, other non-meat ingredients, processing and ancillary costs etc. revealed that cost of sausages prepared with conventional smoking was more expensive than those prepared with liquid smoke at various concentrations (Rs. 378.00 V/s Rs. 330.00, 332.00, 334.00 and 336.00 per 1 kg).ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF DUCK MEAT PATTIES INCORPORATED WITH BLACK GRAM (Vigna mungo L.) FLOUR(Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati, 2016-07) SAIKIA, KALPITA; LASKAR, S. K.Duck meat patties were prepared by incorporating three different levels of hydrated (1:1 w/w) Black Gram Flour (BGF) along with other non-meat ingredients to find out the best formulation/combination which can be stored for reasonable time at refrigeration temperature without affecting its physico-chemical, Sensory and bacteriological qualities. The formulations attempted were – CT (0% BGF), T1 (5% BGF), T2 (10% BGF) and T3 (15% BGF). A total of five batches of patties of each formulation were prepared and evaluated. Patties were cooked in hot air oven at 185 ± 5°C till the internal temperature reached 75 ± 2°C. Thereafter, these were packed in food grade polyethylene bags, stored under refrigeration and evaluated for various quality traits viz., Water Holding Capacity (WHC), pH, Water Activity (aw), Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) value, Sensory qualities, Total Viable Count (TVC), Total Viable Psychrophilic Bacterial Count (TVPBC) and Colititre value on 1st, 5th, 10th and 15th days of storage. In addition, Emulsion Stability, Cooking Loss, Proximate Composition, Colour Profile and Texture Profile of the products were estimated on the day of production (1st day). Besides above, the Calorie value and production cost of duck meat patties were calculated out. Emulsion stability (ES) was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in T3 formulations compared to the CT. Increasing levels of Black Gram Flour resulted in marked decrease (P < 0.01) of cooking loss in the treated groups. The WHC of the patties significantly (P < 0.01) increased along with the increased levels of BGF. There was significant (P < 0.01) decrease in the WHC after 5th day along with the increase in the storage periods. The pH values did not differ significantly in the treated formulations although there was significant (P < 0.01) decrease of products pH values after 5th days on storage upto 15 days. Addition of BGF resulted in decrease of aw. The highest aw was recorded in the control and the lowest values in T3 formulations. Irrespective of the CT & treated formulations the aw decreased significantly (P < 0.01) from 1st to 15th day of storage. The TBA values however, increased significantly (P < 0.01) during the storage period. Proximate composition study of duck meat patties revealed significant (P < 0.01) decrease in the per cent moisture, crude protein and ether extract content from the control to the treated groups. On the contrary, the per cent total ash content increased non-significantly (P > 0.05) from the control to the treated formulations. The study revealed a non-significant (P > 0.05) decrease in calorie value of duck meat patties from the control product to the treated ones. The taste panel evaluation studies in respect of the overall acceptability score of duck meat patties involving all the eating qualities revealed that the treated products had the lowest overall acceptability scores than the control one, although the scores recorded for all others were within the acceptable limit. Among the treated products, formulation T1 registered highest overall acceptability scores. The TVC for the duck meat patties showed significant (P < 0.01) increase in bacterial load from day 1st to 15th day of storage. The TVPBC was not detected on 1st day, although the TVPBC for the duck meat patties showed significant (P < 0.01) increase in bacterial load from day 5th to 15th day of storage. Colititre counts were negative for all the product formulations and on storage upto 15th day. With increased incorporation of BGF the lightness (L) value increase from CT to the treated products and the redness (a) and yellowness (b) values decreased from CT to treated products. With increased incorporation of black gram flour the hardness, springiness, chewiness and resilience values increase but fracturability and cohesiveness decrease from control to the treated products. Estimation of production cost of duck meat patties indicated that products containing T3 were more economic than the control and other treated products. Based on the result obtained in the study it might be concluded that duck meat patties could be prepared satisfactorily on addition of upto 15% levels of BGF and can be stored upto 10 days under refrigeration, without adversely affecting the quality of the products, besides, obtaining a relatively cheaper, black gram flour enriched duck meat patties.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF A DUCK MEAT LOAF INCORPORATED WITH KUMURA (Benincasa hispida)(Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati, 2016-07) DAS, JYOTISHKA KUMAR; Hazarika, M.The study was conducted in the Department of Livestock Products Technology, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati-22 to develop a value added ready-to-eat duck meat loaf incorporating Kumura (Benincsa hispida) at 3 different levels viz 5%, 7.5% and 10% along with the control without affecting the physico-chemical, microbial, organoleptic qualities and shelf life of the products. A total of five batches of cooked duck meat loaves comprising of 4 different formulations in each batch were prepared. The lean meat was substituted by Kumura (Benincasa hispida) at the levels of 5%, 7.5% and 10%. Ducks were collected hygienically; slaughtered, deboned, minced, cured and processed. Different formulations of loaf emulsion were prepared by thoroughly mixing Kumura with required amount of meat , non-meat ingredients, spices, and ice to form a stable meat emulsion. The meat emulsion was stuffed into rectangular stainless steel boxes covered with aluminium foil and cooked in hot water at 850C for 45 minutes. And cooled to room temperature by showering . The meat loaves were packed in food grade packaging (polyethylene) bags separately for each formulation, stored at 4±10C. and evaluated for different quality attributes. Different parameters such as cooking loss, emulsion stability, water holding capacity, pH, thiobarbituric acid value, proximate composition, organoleptic quality, microbial quality, shelf life including cost of the products were studied. The results of the investigation are as follows: Emulsion stability of the Kumura incorporated duck meat loaf emulsions were found to be significantly (P<0.01) higher when compared to control sample without added Kumura. Mean percent cooking loss was found to be gradually increasing as the percentage of Kumura was increasing in the samples. The cooking loss was non significantly lower in control sample (6.20 ±0.59) compared to treated samples with kumura. The duck meat loaf with higher level of Kumura showed significantly (p<0.01). higher water holding capacity. The highest (65.59±2.02) water holing capacity was shown by sample with 10% Kumura followed by T2, T1 and control. The results with respect to pH of the loaves has shown that the product with 10% incorporation of Kumura had the lowest pH value followed by samples with 7.5 percent, 5% and control sample. The pH decreased significantly (P<0.01) with increased incorporation of Kumura. The results pertaining to TBA values indicated that the control sample had the significantly (P<0.01) highest rancidity effect than the other treated samples with Kumura. The TBA values significantly (P<0.01) increased with increase in the storage period in all samples. The percentage of moisture increased, protein decreased, fat decreased and ash also decreased in treated samples as compared to the control samples. M:P ratio ( Moisture: protein ratio) increased in the treated samples as compared to the control. The bacterial counts (TVMBC and Psychrophilic counts) decreased in the treated samples as compared to the control. No yeast and mould were recorded upto 5th day of storage. However yeast and mould were found on 10th day. With respect to the texture and colour profile no significant differences were found among the samples. The panel members offered almost equal scores for sensory attributes for all the samples as there were no significant (P>0.05) differences among the means of sensory scores. The average shelf life of the samples kept at refrigerated temperature (4±10C) was below 5 days. The cost of the loaves were Rs 528.22/kg for control, Rs 511.70/ kg for T1 , Rs .503.11/ kg for T2 and Rs. 494.14/kg for T3. Based on the investigation, it can be concluded that an acceptable ready-to eat duck meat loaf can be developed for future commercial exploitation.ThesisItem Open Access DEVELOPMENT OF READY-TO-COOK SOLAR AND MECHANICALLY DRIED PORK PRODUCTS(Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati, 2017-07) CHOWDHURY, SADHANA; Hazarika, MineswarPork is one of the most popular meats in North Eastern Region (NER) and there is a growing demand for Ready-to-Cook meat products in recent years in the country including NER. Because of highly perishable nature of fresh meat at room temperature, high cost involved in maintaining refrigeration, necessity of cold storage facility, presence of energy deficient areas in NER, disadvantages of traditional drying methods to increase the shelf-life etc. an approach was undertaken to develop dry Ready-to-Cook pork products, which could be stored at room temperature for a considerable period without affecting its quality. Keeping in view the above facts, the proposed study was undertaken with the following objectives viz. to develop ready to cook solar and mechanically dried pork products with the addition of phytoingredients viz. amla, carrot, mint, round lemon and pomegranate and to study their different physico-chemical, microbiological, oganoleptic qualities by storing with two packaging methods along with their shelf-life and cost of production. A total of five batches of meat cube and meat balls were prepared with different formulations with or without addition of the phytoingredients. A control group was there for each treatment group. The raw pork were collected from nearby local market and separated in two parts for meat cubes and balls. Meat was cut into small pieces and cured overnight and then marinated with non meat ingredients containing phytoingredients and dried in solar and mechanical dryers. The control group was also dried along with the treated group which contained only cured meat. The meat balls were prepared by curing the minced meat overnight and then bowl chopped with other non meat ingredients and then shape was given as meat balls. They were also dried in solar and mechanical dryers along with the control group. The temperature of the mechanical dryer was maintained at 60° C, whereas in solar dryer it was fluctuating between 50-60°C. The products were packed in food grade High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and stored at room temperature. The same packaging material was used for both aerobic and vacuum packaging of the products. For sensory evaluation of the products they were rehydrated to a certain period till saturation. The results of the investigation are as follows- The mean percent of proximate composition of products showed similar trend for both the products as well as in both aerobic and vacuum packaging. Moisture and total ash percent showed an increasing trend during storage, whereas crude protein and ether extract showed a deceasing tend during storage. For moisture and crude protein there were no significant differences between control and treated groups but the mean values of ether extract and total ash showed significant differences among control and treated groups. There were significant differences (p<0.01) during the storage period up to 180 days for moisture, crude protein, ether extract and total ash in all the samples and in both the drying methods. But no significant difference could be seen in the vacuum packaged products. The amino acid profile study reveals that the amino acid content was higher in solar dried products than mechanically dried products and control samples had higher values than treated groups. This trend was similar for both meat cubes and balls, whereas meat cubes showed higher values than meat balls and it was observed in both the drying methods. After storage period of 180 days there were changes in all the amino acids and this was not similar for all the amino acids for both the products. The vacuum packaged products showed lesser changes than the aerobically stored products. The mean values of texture profiles also showed similar trend for both meat cubes and meat balls. The drying methods did not show any difference in texture profiles of the products. Significant differences (p<0.01) could be observed in the control and treated groups for hardness, fracturability, cohesiveness and springiness. There were significant (p<0.01) decrease for hardness, fracturability and cohesiveness during the storage period whereas significant (p<0.01) increase was observed for springiness in storage period. In vacuum packaging, during storage differences were non-significant. The mean values of colour profile showed significant differences (p<0.01) among control and treated groups for both meat balls and meat cubes. Similar trend could be observed for both the products as well as in both the drying methods. The L٭ and b٭ value showed a significantly (p<0.01) increasing trend during storage for all the samples, whereas a٭ value showed a significantly (p<0.01) decreasing trend. There were significant difference (p<0.01) between the control and treated groups. In vacuum packaging, during storage significant differences were not observed. The shelf-life studies of meat balls and cubes were studied on the basis of water activity, TBARS value and their microbiological studies (TPC, Yeast and Mould count, Presence of Sulphide reducing Clostridium). The mean value of water activity showed a significant (p<0.01) increasing trend during the storage period in acerbic packaging. It was similar for both meat balls and meat cubes in both the drying methods. There were significant differences (p<0.01) between control and treated groups. In vacuum packaging the increase during storage was non-significant. As the storage period was increasing a significant (p<0.01) increasing trend was observed for all the products in all the storage periods. There were significant (p<0.01) differences among the control and treated groups i.e. mean values of treatment groups were lower than control groups. In vacuum packaging, the increase was non-significant during storage. The trend of the results was similar for both meat cubes and balls and for both the drying methods. The microbiological quality studies revealed that in TPC and Yeast and Mould counts were absent in all the storage periods. It was seen in all the samples of meat cubes and balls under both the packaging methods and for both the drying methods also. The Sulphide Reducing Clostridial organisms were also found to be absent in all the samples in all storage periods. The results were similar in both the packaging methods. However, after 150 days of storage periods, problems of yeasts and moulds were observed in the meat cubes in aerobic packaging. The shelf-life of meat cubes and balls were six months at both aerobic and vacuum packaging method of storage. It was similar for both the drying methods. The dry products were rehydrated until a point of saturation was observed and for meat cubes it took one and half hour to two hours whereas meat balls took three to three and a half hour for saturation. The rehydrated products absorbed 60-65% water until saturation. The dry products were rehydrated in order to study the physico-chemical and sensory qualities of the rehydrated products. There were no significant differences for cooking loss and rehydration capacity (percent) for control and treated groups for both meat cubes and balls. The drying method had also no effect on these two parameters but the meat cubes showed a higher rehydration capacity (percent) than meat balls. Significant differences (p<0.01) were observed for pH and aw between control and treated groups for meat cubes and balls. The proximate composition (moisture, crude protein, ether extract and total ash) of the rehydrated products revealed that there were significant differences between control and treated groups for both cubes and balls. The texture profile (hardness, fracturability, cohesiveness and springiness) study showed significant differences (p<0.01) between the treated groups in both cubes and balls. The colour profile (L٭, a٭ and b٭) study also showed significant differences (p<0.01) between the samples at both drying methods. The sensory evaluation studies (appearance, flavour, juiciness, tenderness and overall acceptability) of rehydrated meat cubes showed no significant differences between the samples whereas for meat balls significant differences (p<0.05) were observed for juiciness, and overall acceptability. However, the sensory scores were higher for meat cubes than meat balls. The yield of dried products was found to be 18-20% and after drying one kg of fresh product it could be served upto 8-10 persons. The dry products can be served deepending on method of preparation such as soup, curry etc. Cost of production studies for meat cubes and balls at both drying methods revealed that solar dried products were cheaper than mechanically dried products. The cost of control products per kg were Rs. 1310.81 for solar dried products whereas Rs. 1449.54 for mechanically dried products. The cost of meat cubes were Rs. 1432.22 (solar dried), Rs. 1603.33 (mechanically dried) and the cost of meat balls were Rs. 1410.28 (solar dried), Rs. 1725.57 (mechanically dried). From the above study, between the products solar dried treated group was cheaper than mechanically dried products. Based on the above study, it can be concluded that microbiologically and organoleptically acceptable dry pork products can be prepared economically with the use of low cost solar dryer.
