PARAMETERS DETERMINING THE QUALITY OF CHARQUI, AN INTERMEDIATE MOISTURE MEAT PRODUCT

Charqui is a typical Brazilian meat product obtained by salting and sun-drying beef samples. The chemical, physical and microbiological characteristics of the charqui were evaluated throughout processing and storage. The results confirm charqui is an intermediate moisture meat product (A(w) = 0.70-0.75). A close relationship between moisture, protein and ash values was found, suggesting the possibility of using the resulting charqui A(w) value as a parameter to define the product instead of the official moisture and mineral residue contents. The TBA determination, which expresses the state of lipid oxidation, rapidly reached the maximum value, corroborating the previous observations on the salt pro-oxidant role, and then decreased gradually. A gradual decrease in microorganism count during processing and storage of charqui was also observed. These results indicate the feasibility of obtaining a final product with a low level of microbial count when raw materials of good quality, and adequate handling conditions, are used for charqui production.