Correlation between physical properties and freshness of chilled mutton in China

Chilled mutton is favored in the Chinese market for its rich nutrition and delicious taste. However, storage temperature can be higher than 4°C to reduce energy and transportation costs, which makes chilled mutton vulnerable to decomposition by microorganisms causing a high attrition rate of chilled mutton. The physical property method is a general widely applicable method to evaluate meat freshness and is simpler and faster than the complex chemical and microbiological methods. In this study, a prediction chilled model based on multiple linear regression was established to predict the change of freshness of chilled mutton using some physical indicators. The prediction model was further optimized with the coefficient of determination value (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE). Eight indicators were retained in the final prediction model (RMSE = 0.1850 and R2 = .6927). In the model, resilience was the best physical indicator to characterize the freshness of chilled mutton. Practical applications In this study, the combination of physical properties and freshness was used to study the change in freshness of chilled mutton under different storage temperatures over 6 days. A chilled mutton model based on multiple linear regression was established to determine the physical indicators that were highly correlated with freshness of chilled mutton. Eight indicators (springiness, cohesiveness, resilience, adhesiveness, PH, L*, a*, and b*) were retained in the final prediction model and resilience had the highest regression coefficient and was the best physical indicator to characterize the freshness of chilled mutton. These results provide a technical reference for detecting the physical properties of chilled mutton, and the prediction model provides an effective reference for detecting the freshness change in chilled mutton. The results provide a technical guarantee to ensure food quality, safety, and the rights of consumers.