Factors Affecting Properties of Precooked-Frozen Pork Sausage Patties Made with Various NaCl/Phosphate Combinations

Whole hog sausage patties made with (1) no phosphate, (2) 0.375% sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) and (3) 0.441% Lem-0-Fos® in combination with salt levels of 1.5, 1.0, 0.5 and 0.0% NaCl were precooked, frozen and packaged. Use of phosphates increased pH values, cooking yield, saltiness and juiciness scores and decreased the formation of off-flavor and rancidity. Higher NaCl levels increased saltiness scores and maintained juiciness scores and reheating yields over extended periods of frozen storage. Sodium chloride alone increased TBA values but did not affect (P > 0.05) off-flavor scores. The use of phosphates or vacuum packaging reduced the development of off-flavor and rancidity during extended periods of frozen storage.     

EFFECTS OF ADJUNCTS ON RESTRUCTURED PORK

Boneless pork shoulders were excised 24h postmortem, frozen, tempered, flaked and blended with one of the four formulations: (1) 1% NaCl and .25% sodium tripolyphosphate (STP); (2) .5% NaCl, .5% KCl and .25% STP; (3) 1% NaCl, .25% STP and .125% lecithin; or (4) .5% NaCl, .5% KCl, .25% STP and .125% lecithin. The blended samples were converted to restructured chops and stored at - 18C until evaluated at 5, 14 and 56 days. Appearance and taste attributes were measured objectively and subjectively. Objective and subjective measurements of color and other visual traits revealed that storage time affected these traits more than the adjuncts; whereas, all treatments had a minimal effect on texture and juiciness. Increased frozen storage time and lecithin contributed to flavor degradation and increased TBA values. Further research is needed to determine the effect of varying amounts of lecithin on oxidative rancidity of restructured muscle foods.     

RESTRUCTURED STEAKS MANUFACTURED FROM PRE-RIGOR BEEF OF VARYING PARTICLE SIZE

Raw materials were removed from U.S. Choice Yield Grade 3 beef fore-quarters 1 h postmortem. Samples were flaked with an Urschel Comitrol 3600 as three sizes; small (head opening = 3.0 mm), medium (head opening = 6.1 mm) and large (head opening = 9.9 mm). Each flake size was formulated with 1.0% NaCl and 0.25% sodium tripolyphosphate (STP), converted into 25 mm thick restructured steaks and packaged. Subjective evaluations were conducted after 0 and 56 days of frozen storage for color, cohesiveness, muscle cut resemblence and overall appearance. A 7-member panel evaluated tenderness, juiciness, connective tissue amount and flavor. Objective measurements included Hunter Color values, shear force, percentage cooking loss and Thiobarbituric Acid (TBA) values. Small flake particles contributed to improved color, cohesiveness and overall appearance. Particle size had minimal effects on muscle cut resemblence, cooking loss, shear values and all sensory attributes. Color degradation and oxidative rancidity increased with storage time.     

RESTRUCTURED PORK WITH TEXTURE VARIATION

Muscles were excised from the shoulders of U.S. No. 1 pork carcasses within 1h postmortem. Samples were flaked as; small (head opening = 3.0mm), medium (head opening = 6.1mm) and large (head opening = 9.9mm) with an Urschel Comitrol 3600. Samples were formulated with 1.0 NaCl and 0.25% sodium tripolyphosphate (STP), converted into 19 mm thick restructured chops and packaged. Subjective evaluations were conducted after 5 and 56 days of frozen storage for color, cohesiveness, muscle cut resemblance, overall appearance, tenderness, juiciness, connective tissue amount and flavor. Objective measurements included Hunter Color values, shear force, percentage cooking loss and Thiobarbituric Acid (TBA) values. Results suggested that large flaked particles contributed to improved color and reduced cooking loss. Particle size had no effect on muscle cut resemblance, overall appearance, juiciness and flavor. Increased particle size was responsible for decreased tenderness, cohesiveness and TBA values but increased connective tissue amount.     

Effect of brine pre-treatment on lipid stability of frozen horse mackerel (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Trachurus trachurus</Emphasis>)

The rancidity development during the frozen storage (-20 °C) of an under-utilised medium-fat fish species (horse mackerel; Trachurus trachurus) was investigated. Special attention was given to a pre-freezing treatment consisting of an immersion in NaCl solution (5%, 10%, and 20%) and its effect on lipid damage during the fish frozen storage. Lipid hydrolysis (free fatty acid content) and oxidation (conjugated dienes formation; peroxide value, PV; thiobarbituric acid index, TBA-i; fluorescence formation, FR) were studied up to 270 days of frozen storage. Oxidative rancidity measured by the PV, TBA-i, and FR showed an increase with the frozen storage time and also as a result of an increasing salt content in fish muscle. A high peroxide formation was observed at day 210 of frozen storage, especially in the case of 20% NaCl treated samples. Lipid hydrolysis also increased with the frozen storage time; at the end of the experiment (270 days), a decreasing effect of muscle salt content on lipid hydrolysis was observed. Employment of appropriate antioxidant additions is recommended if salting pre-treatment is to be needed to avoid a large lipid oxidation development and ensure a longer shelf-life time.     

RESTRUCTURED PORK CHOPS WITH ADDED TURKEY THIGHS

Raw materials from the shoulders of U.S. No. 1 pork carcasses boned at 24 h postmortem and frozen boneless turkey thighs stored for approximately 120h were flaked and incorporated in four formulations for restructured chops each containing 1.0% NaCl and 0.25% sodium tripolyphospahte (STP). Formulations included pork (P), pork plus 0.5% sugar (PS), 50% pork and 50% turkey (PT) and 50% pork and 50% turkey plus 0.5% sugar (PTS). At 0, 21 and 84 days, subjective evaluations were conducted for discoloration, cohesiveness, muscle cut resemblance and overall appearance. Objective measurements included Hunter Color and TBA values. Turkey and sugar had a minimal effect on appearance traits, texture and juiciness and no significant effect on tenderness and flavor regardless of storage time. Results suggested that turkey dark muscle can replace pork with minimal effects on appearance, taste and oxidative rancidity.     

Palatability and Storage Characteristics of Precooked Beef Roasts

The palatability and storage characteristics of fresh, frozen and precooked beef chuck roasts prepared using added phosphate-salt and vacuum cooking bags were evaluated. Palatability attributes (tenderness, juiciness, beef flavor intensity, and off-flavor intensity) of precooked roasts prepared in vacuum cooking bags with phosphate-salt were as good or better than freshly cooked roasts. Precooked roasts in vacuum cooking bags had the lowest total bacterial counts after storage for 14 and 28 days. A palatable precooked roast beef product was developed that can be stored for 28 days at 4°C.     

FLAVOR ADJUNCTS FOR RESTRUCTURED PORK

Boneless prerigor pork shoulders were processed to restructured pork chops and formulated with 1% NaCl and .25% sodium tripolyphosphate (STP). Formulations included (1) 100% pork (C), (2) 95% pork - 5% rehydrated dried apples (A), (3) 95% pork - 5 % mushroom slurry (M), and (4) 99.98% pork -.02% liquid smoke extract (S). All samples were stored at -20°C until evaluation at 0, 14 and 42 days after packaging. Although the C chops received higher initial color scores, color of the A samples remained more stable during storage. The Hunter ‘a’ values followed a similar trend. Flavor enhancers and storage times that were evaluated had a minimal effect on product cohesiveness and tenderness. Rehydrated dried apples and the mushroom slurry appeared to be potential flavor enhancers; whereas, liquid smoke appeared to be a flavor protector by retarding oxidative rancidity development after frozen storage for 42 days.     

Evaluation of Brining Ingredients and Antimicrobials for Effects on Thermal Destruction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in a Meat Model System

ABSTRACT: Escherichia coli O157:H7 may become internalized during brine injection of meat. This study evaluated the effect of brining ingredients on E. coli O157:H7 in a meat model system after simulated brining, storage, and cooking. Fresh knuckles (5.3 ± 2.4% fat) or beef shoulder (15.3 ± 2.2% fat) were ground individually, mixed with an 8-strain composite of rifampicin-resistant E. coli O157:H7 (7 log CFU/g) and brining solutions. Treatments included no brining, distilled water, sodium chloride (NaCl, 0.5%), sodium tripolyphosphate (STP, 0.25%), sodium pyrophosphate (SPP, 0.25%), NaCl + STP, NaCl + SPP, NaCl + STP + potassium lactate (PL, 2%), NaCl + STP + sodium diacetate (SD, 0.15%), NaCl + STP + PL + SD, NaCl + STP + lactic acid (0.3%), NaCl + STP + acetic acid (0.3%), NaCl + STP + citric acid (0.3%), NaCl + STP + EDTA (20 mM) + nisin (0.0015%) or pediocin (1000 AU/g), NaCl + STP + sodium metasilicate (0.2%), NaCl + STP + cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC; 0.5%), and NaCl + STP + hops beta acids (0.00055%). Samples (30 g) were analyzed for pH, and total microbial and rifampicin-resistant E. coli O157:H7 (inoculum) populations immediately after mixing, storage (24 h at 4 °C), and cooking to 65 °C. Fat and moisture contents and water activity were measured after storage and cooking only; cooking losses also were determined. The effect of beef type on microbial counts, pH, and water activity was negligible. No reductions in microbial counts were obtained by the brining solutions immediately or after storage, except for samples treated with CPC, which reduced (P < 0.05) pathogen counts after storage by approximately 1 log cycle. Cooking reduced pathogen counts by 1.5 to 2.5 logs, while CPC-treated samples had the lowest (P < 0.05) counts compared to any other treatment. These data may be useful in developing/improving brining recipes for control of E. coli O157:H7 in moisture-enhanced beef products.     

EFFECT OF FROZEN STORAGE AND PROTECTIVE WRAP UPON THE COOKING LOSSES, PALATABILITY, AND RANCIDITY OF FRESH AND CURED PORK CUTS

Of the fresh and cured pork cuts evaluated, ham steaks were the only cut consistently displaying increased cooking losses following frozen storage. Although the tenderness of fresh cuts tended to increase during frozen storage, the tenderness of cured cuts decreased; and the juiciness of both fresh and cured cuts decreased. In addition, flavor and overall palatability of both fresh and cured cuts decreased during frozen storage and such deterioration in these attributes appeared to result from rancidity development. The results of this study indicate that fresh chops and roasts, ham, and bacon can be stored for over 196, 196, and 112 days respectively, in any of the protective wraps evaluated without the loss of palatability.     

Effect of α-Tocopherol, β-Carotene, and Sodium Tripolyphosphate on Lipid Oxidation of Refrigerated, Cooked Ground Turkey and Ground Pork

ABSTRACT α-Tocopherol and β-carotene at 0.03% levels and sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) at 0.2% and 0.3% levels, alone and in combination, were added to ground turkey and ground pork. Hexanal was measured after cooking and storage at 4 °C for 2, 4, or 6 d. α-Tocopherol alone significantly reduced hexanal of stored, cooked, turkey but had no effect in pork. STP was more effective than α-tocopherol and a combination of α-tocopherol with STP resulted in enhanced antioxidant activity. Hexanal of pork with 0.03%α-tocopherol plus 0.3% STP did not increase significantly during storage, and that of turkey increased only slightly. β-Carotene and salt (1% NaCl) had no effect on hexanal.     

Effect of Inorganic Polyphosphates on Ground Beef Characteristics: Some Chemical, Physical, and Sensory Effects on Frozen Beef Patties

Chemical, physical, and sensory effects of 0.4% sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), tetrasodium pyrophosphate (TSPP) and three commercial phosphate blends were studied in frozen beef patties over a 90-day storage period at ?20°C. Addition of phosphates significantly (P<0.05) increased pH, soluble orthophosphates, Hunter color a values, cook yields and overall acceptability scores. Phosphate addition did not affect (p>0.05) proximate analysis, texture, and flavor scores. Hunter L (lightness) and b (yellowness) values were also unaffected by phosphates. Overall quality of patties, as measured by thiobarbituric acid (TBA) numbers and cooking yields, was improved by all phosphates. There were indications that phosphates interfered with the distillation TBA test.     

Sodium Tripolyphosphate and Sodium Ascorbate Monophosphate as Inhibitors of Off-flavor Development in Cooked, Vacuum-packaged, Frozen Turkey

Sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) or sodium ascorbate monophosphate (SAsMP) in water solutions (0.3 and 0.5% levels) or water only were added to ground turkey which was cooked, vacuum packaged, and stored frozen. Soapy flavor was higher, but rancid flavor and hexanal and bathophenathroline-chelateable (nonheme) iron contents were lower in samples with phosphate salts. Samples without phosphates contained the greatest amount of bathophenathroline-chelateable iron; samples with 0.5% STP contained the least. The addition of phosphate salts decreased cooking losses and increased moisture but did not affect the fat content. Generally, intensity scores for stale and rancid aroma and flavor attributes were low, < 1 for all samples.     

Phosphate Type Affects the Quality of Injected Catfish Fillets

ABSTRACT:  Catfish fillets were injected to 115% over green weight prior to tray-packing and storage at 4 °C for 1, 4, 8, and 11 d. Fillets were evaluated for yields, surface color, pH, cooking loss, tenderness, purge loss, and shelf-life. All phosphate treatments increased ( P  < 0.05) fillet tenderness, but the agglomerated blend of sodium phosphates (AGSP) increased ( P  < 0.05) pH and yields, and decreased ( P  < 0.05) CIE  L * and CIE  b * values. Psychrotrophic plate counts (PPC) of fillets treated with the agglomerated blend of polyphosphates (AGPP) were lower ( P  < 0.05) than the control at each storage time, but PPC of all samples reached 7 log CFU/g by day 8 of storage. All agglomerated phosphates and STP (sodium tripolyphosphate) improved yields and quality when compared to the nonmarinated control. However, AGSP was the most effective phosphate at increasing pick-up and yields and decreasing cooking loss due to the pH effect that causes more water to be trapped within the food system. Major quality differences may not have occurred between STP and agglomerated phosphates (other than AGSP) since injection relies solely on pH and ionic strength for marinade pickup, whereas tumbling also relies on mechanical action, which relies more on the presence of various phosphate chain lengths and solubility to impact yields. All phosphate treatments improved the quality of tray-packed, refrigerated catfish fillets that were enhanced through multineedle injection. However, AGSP also increased fillet pH, optimized yields, and improved color.
Practical Application: Use of an agglomerated phosphate blend with a high pH (AGSP) maximized the yield of catfish fillets that were marinated through multineedle injection. In addition, STP and agglomerated phosphate blends increased the yield and tenderness of catfish fillets when compared to the nonmarinated control.     

EFFECT OF RN GENOTYPE ON YIELD AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF ENHANCED LONGISSIMUS SECTIONS

Pumping treatments with water or 4.5% sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) were evaluated on the fresh longissimus from pigs of different Rendement Napole genotypes. The longissimus muscle (32 RN/rn, 32 rn⁺/rn⁺) was divided into 3 sections and allocated to the: nonpumped, water pumped, and 4.5% STP, treatments. Following aging (14 days) chops were cut, packaged, and frozen. Boneless loin chops were cooked to internal temperatures of either 70C or 80C. Nonpumped loins resulted in the least amount of purge loss, whereas STP loins had the highest raw yield. Pumping loin sections with water and STP increased raw and cooked moisture contents. Pumping with STP increased juiciness and tenderness ratings. Increasing the endpoint temperature decreased juiciness and cooked moisture percentage. Pork from RN/rn⁺ pigs had lower shear force and higher tenderness and juiciness. These data indicate that increasing end point cooking temperature reduced pork palatability while STP pumping and the RN gene improved sensory properties.     

Effects of Mechanically Separated Beef with Various Chloride Salts in Restructured Beef Steaks

The effects of various chloride salts (NaCl, MgCl₂, KCl or 65% NaCl + 35% KCl) in combination with mechanically separated beef (MSB at 0, 10 or 20%) on the quality of restructured steaks formulated from bullock chucks were determined. As level of MSB increased, objectionable connective tissue, flavor desirability and overall palatability decreased and off-flavors increased. The development of oxidative rancidity during frozen storage was not affected by MSB level and MSB had little effect on textural traits. NaCl and NaCl + KCl treated steaks received superior flavor and overall palatability ratings over steaks containing MgCl₂ or KCl. Oxidative rancidity developed faster in steaks containing NaCl than the other salt types. Partial replacement (35%) of NaCl with KCl resulted in restructured steaks with sensory properties equal to and storage life superior to steaks with NaCl alone.     

Effects of Various Phosphates on the Palatability, Appearance and Storage Traits of Flaked and Formed Restructured Beef Steaks

Seven blends (9.1 kg raw meat) were formulated with 0.75% NaCl and 0.25% or 0.5% sodium tripolyphosphate (STP), sodium hexa-metaphosphate (SHMP) or sodium acid pyrophosphate (SAPP). Steaks from all blends were “slightly” to “moderately” desirable in flavor and overall satisfaction scores. Steaks made with STP had higher shear force values and work required to shear values than all other restructured steaks indicating an increase in binding occurred with added STP. Restructured steaks formulated with 0.5% STP or SHMP had more desirable raw color scores than the control or steaks made with SAPP. Storage life of all phosphate added restructured steaks was past 90 days frozen storage, and steaks containing STP had thiobarbituric acid values below 1.0 at 120 days storage.     

Inhibition of Oxidative Flavor Changes in Meat by α-Tocopherol in Combination with Sodium Tripolyphosphate

The effects of α‐tocopherol at 0.03%, sodium tripolyphosphate (STP) at 0.3%, alone and in combination, and STP alone at 0.5% on hexanal and sensory attributes of refrigerated cooked ground turkey or pork, with and without salt (1% NaCl), were studied. For turkey, a combination of α‐tocopherol with 0.3% STP was nearly as effective as 0.5% STP. Turkey and meaty flavor of samples from these 2 treatments did not decline; hexanal content and staleness scores remained low throughout storage. Slick mouthfeel and metallic aftertaste were less for turkey with the antioxidant combination than with 0.5% STP. In pork, STP alone at 0.3% adequately prevented oxidative flavor changes. α‐Tocopherol, when used with STP, provided no additional effect.     

Effect of Chloride Salts and Antioxidants on Sensory and Storage Traits of Restructured Beef Steaks

The effects of antioxidants (0.01 or 0.02% of total fat), salt level (0.375 or 0.750%) and salt type (NaCl, KCl or a 65% NaCl + 35% KCl combination) in a 2 × 2 × 3 factorial arrangement on the quality of restructured beef steaks were determined. Meat blends with 0.02% antioxidant had lower thiobarbituric acid (TBA) values than those with 0.01% after 85 to 155 days of frozen storage. Steaks with no salt (pooled across antioxidant levels) had lower TBA values than steaks with any salt type after 85 days storage or either level of salt after 155 days storage. Steaks with either level of added salt resulted in higher ratings for juiciness, saltiness and overall palatability than steaks with no added salt. Juiciness, flavor desirability, saltiness and overall palatability ratings generally were higher for restructured steaks made with NaCl or NaCl + KCl compared to those made with KCl. KCl at 35% of total salt could serve as a NaCl substitute in restructured beef steaks.