Changes in Quality of Sauced Duck Necks during Cold Storage and Its Correlation with Microbial Community

This study was undertaken in order to explore the correlation between the quality changes and microbial community in sauced duck necks during cold storage. Commercial sauced duck necks in modified atmosphere packaging were stored at 4 ℃ for 1, 4, 7, 10, and 13 days, and the changes in pH, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value, color, texture, total bacterial count, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) content, and microbial community were analyzed. The results showed that the pH initially decreased and then increased with storage time, while brightness (L^*), redness (a^*), yellowness (b^*) and hardness exhibited a decreasing trend, and elasticity, chewiness, cohesiveness and adhesiveness showed an initial increase followed by a decrease. The total bacterial count, TVB-N and TBARS values all gradually increased during storage, with the total bacterial count and TVB-N exceeding the acceptable limits on the 10th day. Microbial diversity diminished gradually with storage time. At the initial stage of storage, the dominant bacteria were Rhodococcus, Acinetobacter, Ureibacillus and Symbiobacterium, while those in the late storage period were Rhodococcus, Acinetobacter, Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus. Principal co-ordinate analysis indicated the two principal coordinates explained 74.03% of the variation, and differences in microbial community composition occurred after 4 days of storage. Correlation analysis showed that Leuconostoc was positively correlated with pH, total bacterial count, TVB-N content and TBARS value during cold storage of sauced duck necks, indicating that Leuconostoc was the primary spoilage bacteria during storage.