Optimization of Thermal Processing Parameters and Their Impact on Quality Attributes of Retort-Processed Seeraga Samba Biryani

Optimization of Thermal Processing Parameters and Their Impact on Quality Attributes of Retort-Processed Seeraga Samba Biryani | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Optimization of Thermal Processing Parameters and Their Impact on Quality Attributes of Retort-Processed Seeraga Samba Biryani SEENIVASAN S, Thirupathi V, Geetha P, Amuthaselvi G, Ramalakshmi A This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9553576/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The growing demand for shelf-stable ready-to-eat (RTE) traditional foods requires processing techniques that ensure microbial safety while preserving quality. This study optimized retort processing conditions for Seeraga Samba biryani using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Central Composite Design. The effects of temperature (115–130°C) and time (5–15 min) on colour (L*), moisture content, pH, and microbial load were evaluated. Quadratic models showed good fit (R² > 0.82), with processing time significantly influencing quality attributes (p < 0.05). Increased processing intensity resulted in reduced lightness, moisture, and pH, while effectively lowering microbial load. The optimized condition was 121.1°C for 10 min (desirability = 0.900), yielding L* 52.1, moisture 58.1%, pH 6.3, and microbial load 1.03 log CFU/g, with less than 10% validation error. The sterilization value (F₀ > 10) confirmed commercial sterility. The product exhibited good physicochemical, nutritional, and microbial stability during 60 days of ambient storage (27–30°C). Among the methods tested, masala-integrated pre-cooking provided superior sensory quality. The study demonstrates that RSM effectively optimizes retort processing for safe, high-quality RTE biryani. Retort Processing Response Surface Methodology F0 Value Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Meals Process Optimization Thermal Lethality Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9553576","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":631027015,"identity":"35763dfd-ad9c-40ee-84fb-045abbfb15a4","order_by":0,"name":"SEENIVASAN 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Thermal Lethality","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9553576/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9553576/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe growing demand for shelf-stable ready-to-eat (RTE) traditional foods requires processing techniques that ensure microbial safety while preserving quality. This study optimized retort processing conditions for Seeraga Samba biryani using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Central Composite Design. The effects of temperature (115\u0026ndash;130\u0026deg;C) and time (5\u0026ndash;15 min) on colour (L*), moisture content, pH, and microbial load were evaluated. Quadratic models showed good fit (R\u0026sup2; \u0026gt; 0.82), with processing time significantly influencing quality attributes (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05). Increased processing intensity resulted in reduced lightness, moisture, and pH, while effectively lowering microbial load. The optimized condition was 121.1\u0026deg;C for 10 min (desirability\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.900), yielding L* 52.1, moisture 58.1%, pH 6.3, and microbial load 1.03 log CFU/g, with less than 10% validation error. The sterilization value (F₀ \u0026gt; 10) confirmed commercial sterility. The product exhibited good physicochemical, nutritional, and microbial stability during 60 days of ambient storage (27\u0026ndash;30\u0026deg;C). Among the methods tested, masala-integrated pre-cooking provided superior sensory quality. The study demonstrates that RSM effectively optimizes retort processing for safe, high-quality RTE biryani.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Optimization of Thermal Processing Parameters and Their Impact on Quality Attributes of Retort-Processed Seeraga Samba Biryani","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-30 10:10:43","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9553576/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"dadf49d8-e681-4bad-b0ca-17e1c586dacf","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 30th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Rejected","date":"2026-05-01T01:21:43+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-30T10:53:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-01T01:24:22+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-30 10:10:43","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9553576","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9553576","identity":"rs-9553576","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}