Research on the electron beam irradiation practice for steamed tofu roll

The changes of total bacterial count, the content of water, fat, protein, fatty acid and amino acid of steamed tofu rolls treated with electron beam (EB) irradiation were investigated. The appropriate dose of EB irradiation on steamed tofu roll was proposed for industry application. The results showed that EB irradiation ≥ 4.5 kGy could extend the shelf-life of steamed tofu roll to 30 days when its bacterial load was no more than 10⁵ CFU · g^-1. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in sensory characteristic, the content of fat, fatty acids, amino acids and protein between samples treated with 6.5 kGy and the control. Therefore, the optimum dose range for steamed tofu roll with bacterial load no more than 10⁵ CFU · g^-1 was 4.5 to 6.5 kGy, which could extend its shelf life to 30 days. (authors)