Influence of different packaging methods on the physicochemical and microbial quality of rabbit meat

The study was conducted on 84 rabbits. The animals were weaned at the age of 42 days, after which they were all fed the same diet. Rabbit loins were obtained 24 h post-mortem and divided into groups according to the packaging method and storage time: control group (examined 24 h post-mortem); two groups stored in vacuum packaging (7 days, n = 12; 14 days, n = 12); and four groups stored in two different gas mixtures (7 days, n = 12/gas mixture; 14 days, n = 12/gas mixture). After the storage, the microbiological and physicochemical quality of longissimus thoracis et lumborum (LTL) muscles was analyzed. Meat packaged in both systems (MAP and VAC) was characterized by good quality after 7 days of storage, while after 14 days, there was a significant deterioration, which was reflected in disturbances in the color parameters (L* and a*) and substantial changes in the water fraction parameters. The purge loss (<0.0001), total water (<0.0001), free water (<0.001), cooking loss (<0.0001), and plasticity (p = 0.0025) were affected by the group. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that vacuum packaging created the lowest microbial growth rates. However, muscles stored in the gas mixture containing 30%CO2 and 70%O2, characterized with the greatest tenderness.