Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Effects of four handling methods on acceptability and safety of two commercially prepared frozen entrees as served in a residence hall

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  • Effects of four handling methods with varying holding times and temperatures on the acceptability and safety of two commercially prepared frozen entrees, tuna and noodles and chicken al a king, as used in a residence hall were studied. The four methods were: I. oven heated and served at once; II. boiled-in-bag and served at once; III. boiled-in-bag and held in a warming cabinet for a specified period of time before serving; and IV. boiled-in-bag sample that had been refrozen and then reheated and served at once. Three replications of each of these four methods for each entree were included. Acceptability of the products was determined by sensory evaluation of appearance, texture, and flavor as rated by a panel of seven untrained judges. Safety was determined by temperature readings and by microbial examinations of the entrees. The examinations included: total plate counts, keeping quality tests, and qualitative tests for coliform and staphylococci taken at four different steps for each method. Temperature readings were made also at those time s. The panel rated products prepared by method II the highest of all methods. The mean scores on the five high to one low rating scale were 4.2 for chicken a la king and 3.8 for tuna, and noodles while the lowest ratings were 2.9 and 2.2 for the two products, respectively. No sample was rated totally unacceptable. An analysis of variance of panel scores showed that the three acceptability factors were not significant in relation to the four heating methods for chicken a la king. For tuna and noodles, however, panel preferences for method II were significant for appearance, and texture at the one percent level and for flavor at the five percent level. All mean temperatures were outside the food holding danger zone, 38°F to 140°F ..indicating all were safe for human consumption. Mean temperature readings taken when the products were served to the panel ranged from 143°F to 182°F for chicken and 147.3°F to 179.6°F for tuna and noodles. The highest readings for both products mere obtained from method II. The lowest readings for chicken was from method I and from method IV for tuna and noodles. Only one sample in the entire study, chicken a la king heated by method I to 134.7°F, was in the danger zone when served to the panel. Also, all samples were within the microbial safety limit of 100,000 organisms per gram when served to the panel. Mean plate counts for the products when served to the panel were 303 and 2300 organisms per gram for chicken a la king and tuna and noodles respectively and the highest mean counts for any of the samples were 15,000 for chicken and 11,700 for tuna. Samples boiled-in-bag and served at once were the most acceptable to the panel and had the lowest microbial counts of all the samples. Continued holding and subsequent drops in temperature adversely affected the degree of acceptability of the entrees. Those products that were held the longest before serving showed the highest microbial counts, indicating the need for care when using them. On the basis of these findings, it is recommended that institutions using commercially prepared frozen entrees heat them as close to serving time as possible and that they be heated as needed throughout the serving period to reduce the possibility of having leftovers.
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