Hurdle effect of vinegar and sake on Korean seasoned beef preserved by sous vide packaging

A Korean beef product seasoned in concentrated soy sauce was vacuum packaged in a gas barrier plastic pouch and pasteurised. Adding vinegar and/or sake to the product was examined as preservation hurdles to improve microbial stability, and sensory quality affected by the additions was evaluated. A combination of vinegar and sake improved the microbial stability of the product at 8 and 20 °C, while added vinegar and/or sake did not improve the sensory quality of the product. The vinegar and sake combination produced significantly inferior initial quality in taste and overall acceptability. The sensory quality of the products with or without single use of vinegar or sake degraded significantly during 10 days of storage at 8 °C, which made the treatment effect less pronounced. Thus, the combined addition of vinegar and sake may be an alternative means of extending shelf life, because sensory quality with this treatment became close to that of the control after extended storage.