Effects of high hydrostatic pressure processing and sodium reduction on physicochemical properties, sensory quality, and microbiological shelf life of ready-to-eat chicken breasts

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) conditions at two processing stages (300 MPa/5 min after tumbling and 600 MPa/3 min applied to the final product) and sodium reduction (up to 50%) on the physicochemical properties and sensory and microbiological quality of ready-to-eat (RTE) chicken breasts were studied. The microbiological shelf life of RTE chicken breasts was also estimated. The NaCl was partially replaced with KCl (25%–50%), which increased (P < 0.05) cooking loss and hardness of conventional RTE chicken breasts. HHP processing significantly reduced cooking loss and hardness and improved the sensory attributes of sodium-reduced RTE chicken breasts compared with controls. HHP extended the microbiological shelf life of sodium-reduced RTE chicken breasts by more than 60 days. Based on their physicochemical properties and sensory quality, the unpressurised RTE chicken breasts reduced NaCl up to 25%, while pressurised RTE chicken breasts reduced up to 50%. HHP contributes to developing sodium-reduced RTE chicken breasts with enhanced product quality and microbiological safety.