Application of durian rind smoke powder to preserve chicken meatballs at room temperature

Smoke powder is a natural alternative to artificial preservatives for extending the shelf life of food products. This study assessed the use of smoke powder derived from durian rinds as a preservative for chicken meatballs. Durian rinds were pyrolyzed at 300 °C (T1), 340 °C (T2), and 380 °C (T3) to produce liquid smoke. After filtration to separate the remaining carbon, the resulting liquid smoke was purified by distillation at 190 °C and then converted into a smoke powder through the addition of maltodextrin and spray drying. The feasibility of smoke powder as a preservative for chicken meatballs was tested using total volatile base (TVB), total plate count (TPC), pH, and most probable number (MPN) tests for Escherichia coli. The findings demonstrated an upward trend in TVB, TPC, and MPN values over the storage duration. The TVB and TPC tests revealed that meatballs preserved with T3 smoke powder retained acceptable quality upon 64 h of storage. The MPN value of the T3 sample showed that E. coli bacterial contamination could still be tolerated up to 68 h of storage.