Anita L. Sikes

A proposed mechanism of tenderising post-rigor beef using high pressure-heat treatment.

Tenderness of beef M. Sternomandibularis was tough when cooked from both raw, and when previously heated (60 degrees C, 20 min), whereas a significant improvement in tenderness was achieved when pressure-heat (P-H) treated muscle (200 MPa, 60 degrees C, 20 min) was cooked. In order to determine the mechanism for this improvement, connective tissue, myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins, were separated into three fractions and studied with regard to their solubilisation, denaturation and aggregation, degradation and strengthening of protein structures for the three treatments (raw, heated and H-P treated). Measurements included DSC, SDS-PAGE, surface hydrophobicity, and the appearance, length and width of myofibres (light microscopy). For the connective tissue fraction, heat solubility was determined. It is suggested that the mechanism for this improvement in tenderness is the formation of a strengthened myofibrillar structure that, when sheared by mastication, allows the crack to pass through the meat rather than dissipate into a more visco-elastic structure. In this way a more brittle fracture is achieved and the meat is perceived as more tender. The pre-requisite is that adequate enzymatic activity has occurred. It is suggested that cathepsins are responsible.

Effect of High Pressure on Physicochemical Properties of Meat

The application of high pressure offers some interesting opportunities in the processing of muscle-based food products. It is well known that high-pressure processing can prolong the shelf life of meat products in addition to chilling but the pressure-labile nature of protein systems limits the commercial range of applications. High pressure can affect the texture and gel-forming properties of myofibrillar proteins and, hence, has been suggested as a physical and additive-free alternative to tenderize and soften or restructure meat and fish products. However, the rate and magnitude at which pressure and temperature effects take place in muscles are variable and depend on a number of circumstances and conditions that are still not precisely known. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge of the effects of high pressure on muscle tissue over a range of temperatures as it relates to meat texture, microstructure, color, enzymes, lipid oxidation, and pressure-induced gelation of myofibrillar proteins.

Effect of processing temperature on tenderness, colour and yield of beef steaks subjected to high-hydrostatic pressure

Our aim was to achieve a single-step pressure-heat process that would produce tender, juicy beef steaks from meat that would otherwise be tough when cooked. Steak portions (25mm thick) from hind-quarter muscles were subjected to heat treatment at 60, 64, 68, 72 or 76°C for 20min, with or without simultaneous application of high pressure (200MPa). Control steaks were heated at 60°C for 20min with or without pressure and cooked at 80°C for 30min. Compared with heat alone, pressure treatment resulted in higher lightness scores at all temperatures and overall yield was improved by pressure treatment at each temperature. Even at 76°C, the overall water losses were <10% compared with >30% for heat alone. Meat tenderness (peak shear force) was improved for the pressure-heat samples at temperatures above 64°C, and was optimal at 76°C. Therefore, subject to microbial evaluation, this single-step pressure-heat process could be used to produce tender, high moisture content steaks ready for consumption.

Enriching M. sternomandibularis with α-tocopherol by dietary means does not protect against the lipid oxidation caused by high-pressure processing

We hypothesized that elevating the concentration of alpha-tocopherol in beef muscle tissue by dietary means would increase lipid stability following high-pressure processing. Beef M. sternomandibularis was obtained from cattle that had medium (4.92 microg/g) and high (7.30 microg/g) concentrations of alpha-tocopherol. Post-rigor, paired muscles samples were subjected to pressures of 0.1 (atmospheric), 200 or 800 MPa for 20 min at approximately 60 degrees C. Following high-pressure processing, measurements were made immediately (d 0) or on samples stored in the dark for 6 d at 4 degrees C (d 6). Intramuscular lipid was similar for each group (4.02% vs. 4.26%, respectively; P=0.78), but lipid from the medium alpha-tocopherol muscle was more saturated and less monounsaturated than muscle from the high alpha-tocopherol group. High-pressure processing at 800 MPa and 60 degrees C did not reduce the amount of alpha-tocopherol but significantly reduced the concentration of linoleic acid (18:2n-6) in muscle from both production groups of cattle. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances increased linearly with treatment pressure only in d 6 samples (day x pressure interaction P=0.0001) and were higher overall (P=0.02) in the high alpha-tocopherol muscle than in the medium alpha-tocopherol muscle. At d 6, lipid peroxides were decreased (P=0.007) by high-pressure treatment and were higher (P<0.0001) in the high alpha-tocopherol group than in the medium alpha-tocopherol group. Therefore, muscle from the high alpha-tocopherol cattle in this study had a greater accumulation of lipid peroxides by d 6, making the muscle from those cattle more susceptible to oxidation.

Physicochemical Factors of Abalone Quality: A Review

Abstract Abalone meat has long been held in high regard for its unique sensory properties of texture and flavor, as well as its appearance. From a physicochemical viewpoint, the concentrations of certain free amino acids (especially glycine and glutamate) and the nucleotide AMP have been implicated as major factors characterizing the taste of abalone, and there seems to be a strong interaction (synergism) between them. The texture of abalone meat is related to the distribution of protein within the foot, and there is a good correlation between the collagen content and the toughness of abalone. These physicochemical factors, which largely define quality, may be influenced by species, season, diet, physiological condition and genetic factors. Protocols for handling and transport, and processing also influence quality; lactic acid is considered a useful post-mortem indicator of “freshness” in abalone meat. This review focuses on the abovementioned physicochemical factors and their link to abalone quality, and briefly discusses market related aspects and objective methods used for assessing quality attributes in abalone.

Systematic review of emerging and innovative technologies for meat tenderisation

Consumers are the final step in the meat supply chain and meeting consumer expectations of quality and tenderness are important for satisfaction and repeat purchase. High pressure processing, shockwaves, ultrasound, pulsed electric field and muscle stretching can be applied to pre- and post-rigor meat for tenderisation. These non-thermal and thermal innovative technologies can be used with varying levels of success to cause physical disruption to muscle structure, enhanced proteolysis and ageing and muscle protein denaturation and solubilisation resulting in changes to texture and juiciness. Results of a meta-analysis are used to compare the effects of these technologies on meat tenderisation. In the future, a combination of new and innovative technologies will be ideally suited to deliver a range of desired textures for meat products.

Quality properties of pre- and post-rigor beef muscle after interventions with high frequency ultrasound

The delivery of a consistent quality product to the consumer is vitally important for the food industry. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for using high frequency ultrasound applied to pre- and post-rigor beef muscle on the metabolism and subsequent quality. High frequency ultrasound (600kHz at 48kPa and 65kPa acoustic pressure) applied to post-rigor beef striploin steaks resulted in no significant effect on the texture (peak force value) of cooked steaks as measured by a Tenderometer. There was no added benefit of ultrasound treatment above that of the normal ageing process after ageing of the steaks for 7days at 4°C. Ultrasound treatment of post-rigor beef steaks resulted in a darkening of fresh steaks but after ageing for 7days at 4°C, the ultrasound-treated steaks were similar in colour to that of the aged, untreated steaks. High frequency ultrasound (2MHz at 48kPa acoustic pressure) applied to pre-rigor beef neck muscle had no effect on the pH, but the calculated exhaustion factor suggested that there was some effect on metabolism and actin-myosin interaction. However, the resultant texture of cooked, ultrasound-treated muscle was lower in tenderness compared to the control sample. After ageing for 3weeks at 0°C, the ultrasound-treated samples had the same peak force value as the control. High frequency ultrasound had no significant effect on the colour parameters of pre-rigor beef neck muscle. This proof-of-concept study showed no effect of ultrasound on quality but did indicate that the application of high frequency ultrasound to pre-rigor beef muscle shows potential for modifying ATP turnover and further investigation is warranted.

Application of High Hydrostatic Pressure for Meat Tenderization

The quality attributes of meat which are important to the consumer, in addition to safety and nutritional considerations, include visual traits and sensory traits. The tenderness and color are the primary sensory and visual traits of importance, respectively. The tenderness of meat can vary widely, and it would be of benefit to the meat industry if processing technologies such as high-pressure processing (HPP) could provide opportunities for improving the value of low-value muscles and cuts, and to ensure greater consistency of eating quality. This chapter will discuss the effects of applying HPP under different processing conditions on muscle components and the impact on functional properties such as texture and water-holding capacity.

Very fast chilling modifies the structure of muscle fibres in hot-boned beef loin

The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the tenderisation mechanism associated with very fast chilling (VFC) of beef muscle. Hot-boned striploins from 36 carcasses were allocated to a treatment (control, delayed or immediate chilling below 0°C), and each striploin was divided into three equal portions and allocated to a time post-mortem (2, 5 or 14d). Immediate chilling resulted in lower peak force values at 2d post-mortem and lower particle size after 5d post-mortem. Both chilling treatments significantly improved the WHC by reducing drip loss and cooking loss. Sarcomere lengths were not affected by chilling treatments, although fragmentation and cleavage of muscle fibres were evident along the fibre length, possibly contributing to the reduction in peak force values at 2d post-mortem. Both delayed and immediate chilling resulted in a higher pH at 4 and 24h post-mortem, and colour parameters were modified. These results suggest that VFC has potential for accelerating tenderisation early post-mortem by a combination of biochemical and biophysical effects.

Cooking and Novel Postmortem Treatments to Improve Meat Texture

Abstract Tenderness is an important meat quality trait and the consumer is prepared to pay more for quality in premium markets. Each piece of meat has physical properties, with varying importance in their contribution to texture which depends on the inherent hierarchical structure of the muscle, including the contribution of connective tissue proteins, structural proteins within the muscle cell, and degradation or disruption of these proteins. In addition, meat tissue consists of numerous molecules which denature, interact, and solubilize at different temperatures and time scales. Innovative and new processing and cooking technologies, such as high pressure processing, shockwave, ultrasound, pulsed electric field, Smartstretch, and sous vide cooking can be used to tenderize meat postmortem. This chapter will discuss these technologies as well as the importance of cooking in determining meat texture.