Division of Livestock Products Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Sher-e- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, Shuhama, 190006, Srinagar.
A study was conducted to assess the quality of commercially available Goshtaba (a traditional meat product of Kashmir) sold in Srinagar city in terms of physicochemical, microbiological and sensory parameters. The outlets serving Goshtaba in Srinagar city were divided into high standard, medium standard and low standard type on the basis of their infrastructure and services. The physicochemical parameters evaluated include pH, moisture (%), protein (%), ether extract (%) and ash (%) and microbiological parameter studied were total viable count (TVC), Coliform count and percent positive samples for E. coli. All the physicochemical parameters did not differ significantly among the types of outlets. TVC and Coliform count showed significantly decreasing trend from LS to HS. None of the sample from the types of restaurants showed presence of E. coli. The overall acceptability scores for the samples from HS, MS and LS type of catering institutions was found to be 6.81 ± 0.11, 5.91 ± 0.14 and 5.61 ± 0.15 respectively on 8 point descriptive scale (where 8 = extremely palatable and 1 = extremely unpalatable). Overall quality of Goshtaba from all the outlets was found to be acceptable.
Goshtaba, Quality evaluation, Traditional meat products
