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Journal of Animal Science and Technology
Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology

J Anim Sci Technol

pISSN: 2672-0191, eISSN: 2055-0391

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5187/jast.2024.e117

Article

Effects of irradiation on microbiological safety and physicochemical properties of dry pet food

Dongbin Park1, Anand Sethukali1,2, Minwoo Choi1, Jae-Kyung Kim3, Hyun Jung Lee1,*, Cheorun Jo1,4,**
1Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Food and Bioconvergence, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
2Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jaffna, Kilinochchi 44000, Sri Lanka.
3Advanced Radiation Technology Institute, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Jeongeup 56212, Korea.
4Institute of Green Bio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea.
*Corresponding Author: Hyun Jung Lee, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Food and Bioconvergence, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea, Republic of. E-mail: leehj0113@gmail.com.
**Corresponding Author: Cheorun Jo, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Center for Food and Bioconvergence, and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea, Republic of. Institute of Green Bio Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Pyeongchang 25354, Korea, Republic of. Phone: 028804804. E-mail: cheorun@snu.ac.kr.

© Copyright 2024 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Oct 14, 2024; Revised: Nov 12, 2024; Accepted: Nov 28, 2024

Published Online: Dec 03, 2024

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of electron beam (EB) and X-ray (XR) irradiation on dry pet food during long-term storage. The samples were irradiated with EB and XR at doses of 0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 kGy, and their microbial safety and quality/oxidation properties were analyzed over 56 days under storage conditions of 25°C and 70% relative humidity. As a result, total aerobic bacteria (TAB) and yeasts and molds (YM) significantly decreased as the doses of EB and XR increased. When treated with 10 kGy for both irradiations, no bacteria were detected in the dry pet food, and this effect remained during the 56-day storage period. While EB and XR were effective in reducing aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in solution, they showed limited effect on dry pet food. On the other hand, changes in quality traits such as proximate compositions, pH, water activity, color, and volatile basic nitrogen due to EB and XR were negligible. However, both types of irradiation induced lipid and protein oxidation in dry pet food. Also, a significant increase was observed in oxidation-related volatile compounds such as hydrocarbons, aldehydes, and ketones with EB and XR treatment, which suggested these changes could potentially impact the flavor of the dry pet food. The current findings confirm the efficient microbial reduction of dry pet food by EB and XR and the consequent changes in quality and oxidative properties. Future research should focus on sensory evaluations to understand the implications of these oxidized substances on pet preferences and explore potential methods to mitigate negative effects.

Keywords: Dry pet food; Irradiation; X-ray; Electron beam; Microbial safety; Oxidation