Effects of ultrasound and convection cooking to different end point temperatures on cooking characteristics, shear force and sensory properties, composition, and microscopic morphology of beef longissimus and pectoralis muscles

3D printing based on meat materials: Challenges and opportunities

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, as an emerging technology, is driving great progress in the food industry. In the meat field, 3D printing is expected to replace the traditional food industry and solve the problems of raw material waste and food contamination. Nevertheless, the application of 3D printing in meat still faces many challenges. The rheological properties of the ink, such as shear thinning behavior, viscosity, and yield stress, are critical in determining whether it can be printed smoothly and ensuring the quality of the product. Meat materials are complex multi-phase colloidal systems with unique fibrous structures that cannot be printed directly, and improving the printability of meat colloids mainly limits meat printing. The complexity of meat colloidal systems determines the different heat requirements. In addition, at this stage, the functionality of the printer and the formulation of a single nutritional and organoleptic properties limit the implementation and application of 3D printing. Moreover, the development of cultured meat, the full application of by-products, and the emergence of new technologies provides opportunities for the application of 3D printing in the meat industry. This review highlights the current challenges and opportunities for the application of 3D printing in meat to provide new ideas for the development of 3D printing.

Advances in application of ultrasound in meat tenderization: A review

Tenderness could measure the eating quality of meat. The mechanism of muscle tenderization is becoming more and more critical in the past decade. Since the transforming of muscle into edible meat requires a complex physiological and biochemical process, the related tenderization of meat can be beneficial to improving the meat quality. As a non-thermal processing technology with energy-saving, environmental protection, and intense penetration, ultrasonic treatment has been widely used in the tenderizing process of meat products. In this paper, the principle of meat tenderization, the ultrasonic technology, and the application of ultrasonic technology in meat tenderization is summarized. The effect of ultrasonic technology on the tenderization of meat products is discussed from different perspectives (muscle fibers and connective tissue properties).

Power ultrasound in the meat industry (freezing, cooking and fermentation): Mechanisms, advances and challenges

High intensity ultrasound (HIUS) has a wide range of applications in different sectors of food processing. It is a promising and emerging technology demonstrating the potential to promote food processes without or at least damage to the quality of products. Among the processes of the meat industry, freezing, thawing, cooking and fermentation are very sensitive and important, because they have significant effects on product quality and are also very energy and time consuming. This review paper provides an interpretation of high intensity ultrasound (HIUS) applications, a summary of recent outstanding published research and an overview of the freezing/thawing, cooking/frying and fermentation processes in meat and its products assisted by HIUS. The effects, benefits and drawbacks as well as the challenges ahead in the commercialization of this technology in the meat industry are studied. The research results confirmed that the use of HIUS in the meat freezing/thawing, cooking/frying and fermentation in combination with the corresponding processing methods demonstrates a great potential to promote the process, improve the general quality of the final product and reduce the time and energy required. However, many issues remain that require further research to address these challenges. These challenges and subsequent research that is useful for developing and increasing the efficiency of this technology have been reviewed. After the literature review, it is concluded that HIUS may be a useful technology for meat processing because of its significant effects on the quality factors and related process variables that leads to the preservation of the initial nutritional and sensory properties of meat and its products. Of course, research must be continued to eliminate the disadvantages or minimize the undesirable effects of this technology on the final product and to remove barriers to commercialization and optimization of this method.

Structural and functional modification of food proteins by high power ultrasound and its application in meat processing

In the field of agricultural and food processing, high power ultrasound (HPUS) is recognized as a green, physical and non-thermal technology in improving the safety and quality of foods. The functional properties of food proteins are responsible for texture, yield and organoleptic of food products which are the theoretical basis for food processing optimizing. HPUS treatment could provide the possibility for creating novel functional properties of new foods with desirable properties due to the modification of protein structure. In this article, an overview of the previous studies and recent progress of the relationship between structure modification and functional properties of food proteins using the HPUS technique were presented. The research results revealed that HPUS could significantly affect the conformation and structure of protein due to the cavitation effect resulting in the improvement of solubility, interfacial, viscosity, gelation and flavor binding properties of proteins. During meat processing, HPUS can modify the structure and thereby improve the functional properties of myofibrillar protein (MP), leading to the quality enhancement, low fat and/or salt products development and the shelf life extending. In view of this review, the recent findings of applications of HPUS in the production of meat products based on the modification of MP including curing, freezing/thawing and thermal processing have been summarized. Finally, the future considerations were presented in order to facilitate the progress of HPUS in meat industry and provided the suggestions based on the advanced protein modification by HPUS for the commercial utilization of HPUS in producing the innovative meat products.

Texture of Fermented Summer Sausage With Differing pH, Endpoint Temperature, and High Pressure Processing Times

The objective was to evaluate the quality and texture of all-beef summer sausages produced with varying degrees of fermentation, endpoint cooking temperatures, and high pressure processing (HPP) hold times. Across 3 replications, sausages were fermented and (Process A) cooked to pH 4.6 and thermally processed to 54.4°C with smokehouse chilling, (Process B) cooked to pH 5.0 and thermally processed to 54.4°C with smokehouse chilling, (Process C) cooked to pH 5.0 and thermally processed to 54.4°C with rapid ice bath chilling, (Process D) cooked to pH 5.0 and thermally processed to 48.9°C with rapid ice bath chilling, and (Process E) cooked to pH 5.0 and thermally processed to 43.3°C with rapid ice bath chilling. After chilling, the sausages were sliced, layered, vacuum packaged, and subjected to HPP at 586 MPa for 0, 1, 150, or 300 s. Post HPP, the sausages were evaluated for objective color (n = 9), lipid oxidation (n = 9), water activity (n = 9), texture profile analysis (TPA; n = 15), sensory analysis (n = 9), and proximate analysis (n = 9). Neither process (combination of pH and endpoint temperature) nor HPP affected lipid oxidation (P = 0.45 and P = 0.69, respectively). Process A resulted in a lighter color (P < 0.01) compared to the other process treatments. Additionally, Process A was less red (P < 0.01) than all other process treatments, and Processes D and E were the reddest (P < 0.01). TPA and trained sensory analysis indicated that, as endpoint temperature increased, so did sample hardness (P < 0.05). Springiness, cohesiveness, and gumminess decreased (P < 0.05) as the endpoint temperature decreased. Although springiness and gumminess increased (P < 0.05) with longer HPP hold times, the panelists were unable to detect differences among samples with longer hold times. The use of HPP at 586 MPa for up to 300 s may be incorporated into manufacturing processes for semidry beef summer sausages with limited impacts on color and texture.

Changes in calpain activity, protein degradation and microstructure of beef M. semitendinosus by the application of ultrasound

In this investigation, samples were treated by ultrasonic probe (20 kHz) at an intensity of 25 W cm^-2 for 20 or 40 min, followed by aging at 4 °C for 1, 3 and 7 d. Ultrasound treatment significantly increased myofibrillar fragmentation index (MFI) and decreased Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) at 3 and 7 d of postmortem aging (P < .05). Ultrasound-treated samples showed significantly greater intensities of autolyzed 76 kDa subunits and the lower intensity of intact 80 kDa form compared to control at 1 d of storage (P < .05). Significant difference was found between semitendinosus (ST) samples treated for both 20 and 40 min (P < .05). Ultrasound treated samples showed increased proteolysis during the postmortem storage as reflected by an increased degradation of desmin and troponin-T. These results showed that ultrasound treatment could improve the tenderness of beef ST muscle through regulating the calpain activation and protein degradation during postmortem aging.

Modification of Food Systems by Ultrasound

This review describes the mechanism, operation, and recent potential applications of ultrasound in various food systems, as well as the physical and chemical effects of ultrasound treatments on the conservation and modification of different groups of food. Acoustic energy has been recognized as an emerging technology with great potential for applications in the food industry. The phenomenon of acoustic cavitation, which modifies the physical, chemical, and functional properties of food, can be used to improve existing processes and to develop new ones. The combination of ultrasonic energy with a sanitizing agent can improve the effect of microbial reduction in foods and, thereby, their quality. Finally, it is concluded that the use of ultrasound in food is a very promising area of research; however, more research is still needed before applying this technology in a wider range of industrial sectors.

Effects of dry, vacuum, and special bag aging; USDA quality grade; and end-point temperature on yields and eating quality of beef Longissimus lumborum steaks

This study evaluated the effects of three aging methods: (dry (D), wet (W), and special bag (SB)); two quality grades [USDA Choice((≥Small(50) marbling) and Select); and two cooked end-point temperatures (62.8 °C and 71.1 °C) on physico-chemical traits of instrumental tenderness, color, and sensory properties of Longissimus lumborum beef muscle. Dry-aged loins had higher (P<0.0001) weight loss than W or SB aged loins. However, D and SB aged loins had similar (P>0.05) combined losses. W aged loins had higher (P<0.01) L* values than D or SB aged loins. Warner-Bratzler shear force of steaks was not affected (P>0.05) by aging method or quality grade but increased (P<0.0001) as end-point temperature increased. Sensory panel evaluation also showed no effect (P>0.05) of aging method or quality grade on myofibrillar tenderness, juiciness, connective tissue amount, overall tenderness or off flavor intensity. Steaks cooked to 62.8 °C were juicier (P<0.05) than those cooked to 71.1 °C. Neither D nor SB aging had advantages over W aging.

Effect of canola oil emulsion injection on processing characteristics and consumer acceptability of three muscles from mature beef

The study was undertaken to investigate the impact of the combined effect of blade tenderization and canola oil emulsion injection on processing yield and eating quality-related parameters of selected loin and hip muscles (longissimus lumborum, LL, biceps femoris, BF and semimembranosus, SM) from over thirty month (OTM) cattle. Canola oil emulsion injection significantly reduced shear force, increased sensory scores for juiciness and tenderness, and made connective tissue less perceptible. Targeted levels of omega-3 fatty acids can be achieved by the inclusion of canola oil containing marinades/emulsions at levels sufficient to retain omega-3 fatty acids in cooked product. All consumer acceptability attributes of OTM muscles were improved with the use of canola oil emulsion injection treatments without compromising colour although slightly decreasing oxidative stability of BF muscle. Injection of omega-3 oil emulsions in combination with blade tenderization can be effectively utilized to enrich injected products in essential fatty acids and enhance eating quality of OTM beef.

Applications of ultrasound in food technology: Processing, preservation and extraction

Ultrasound is well known to have a significant effect on the rate of various processes in the food industry. Using ultrasound, full reproducible food processes can now be completed in seconds or minutes with high reproducibility, reducing the processing cost, simplifying manipulation and work-up, giving higher purity of the final product, eliminating post-treatment of waste water and consuming only a fraction of the time and energy normally needed for conventional processes. Several processes such as freezing, cutting, drying, tempering, bleaching, sterilization, and extraction have been applied efficiently in the food industry. The advantages of using ultrasound for food processing, includes: more effective mixing and micro-mixing, faster energy and mass transfer, reduced thermal and concentration gradients, reduced temperature, selective extraction, reduced equipment size, faster response to process extraction control, faster start-up, increased production, and elimination of process steps. Food processes performed under the action of ultrasound are believed to be affected in part by cavitation phenomena and mass transfer enhancement. This review presents a complete picture of current knowledge on application of ultrasound in food technology including processing, preservation and extraction. It provides the necessary theoretical background and some details about ultrasound the technology, the technique, and safety precautions. We will also discuss some of the factors which make the combination of food processing and ultrasound one of the most promising research areas in the field of modern food engineering.

Composição centesimal, perdas de peso e maciez de lombo (longissimus dorsi) suíno submetido a diferentes tratamentos de congelamento e descongelamento

Foram avaliadas a composição centesimal, as perdas de peso e a maciez de porções de carne suína (Longissimus dorsi) grelhadas, submetidas a dois períodos de estocagem (15 e 60 dias) e descongeladas a 7ºC e 25ºC. Constatou-se que os bifes contendo teores mais elevados de umidade correspondem aos tratamentos com 15 dias de estocagem congelada e descongelamento a 7ºC (59,54%) e com 60 dias de estocagem congelada combinada com descongelamento a 25ºC (60,51%). Amostras armazenadas durante 60 dias apresentaram maior teor de minerais (5,58%) em relação àquelas estocadas por 15 dias (4,51%) (análise realizada em amostras grelhadas e pré-salgadas). Os teores de proteína e lipídios e a maciez não foram afetados por quaisquer dos procedimentos. A utilização de 25ºC para o descongelamento ocasionou maiores perdas de peso (40,19%) que 7ºC (33,17%). Os resultados do presente estudo sugerem a aplicação de períodos curtos de estocagem congelada e descongelamento sob resfriamento.