author(s)
BK Sarkar, S Upadhyay, M Hazarika, P Gogoi, A Das, S Choudhury, D Deuri and Z Rahman

abstract
A study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of incorporation of spent hen meat powder in traditional bhujia formulation to enrich the nutritional and sensory quality of product. Four treatment combinations i.e. Treatment-A (0% meat powder), Treatment-B (10% meat powder), Treatment-C (15% meat powder) and Treatment-D (20% meat powder) were prepared and analyzed for its physico-chemical, nutritional, microbiological, sensory and storage stability for a period of 60 days. The cooking yield, water requirement for dough preparation and oil uptake increased with the increase level of incorporation of meat powder in treated groups. On the other hand fracturability and pH of treatments decreased with increase level of incorporation of meat powder. There was also significant and gradual increase of pH in subsequent storage period. A significant (P<0.05) increasing trend of TBARS was observed with an increase in level of incorporation of meat powder. The moisture content increased significantly (P<0.05) with storage period of 0 to 60 days in all treatments. The crude protein, crude fat, total ash and calorific value content showed an increasing trend with increase level of incorporation of meat powder while carbohydrate content showed a significantly (P<0.05) decreasing trend. Treatment C showed a significantly higher value (P<0.05) than other treatments with respect to flavour, crispiness, taste and overall acceptability. In general, sensory attributes showed significant decreasing trend during the whole of the storage period irrespective of the treatments. Total Plate Count, Yeast & Mould, E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. indicates absence of microbial load during the whole storage period. The study indicates that the spent hen meat powder to the extent of 15% could successfully be incorporated in traditional bhujia to improve its nutritional and sensory qualities. It was also found that the bhujia was suitable to be aerobically stored in LDPE pouches (150µm thickness) at ambient for 60 days without any deterioration in its quality and acceptability.