Comparison of consumer perception and acceptability for steaks cooked to different endpoints: Validation of photographic approach

Photographs have been used to enhance consumer reporting of preference of meat doneness, however, the use of photographs has not been validated for this purpose. This study used standard cooking methods to produce steaks of five different degrees of doneness (rare medium, medium well, well done and very well done) to study the consumer’s perception of doneness, from both the external and internal surface of the cooked steak and also from corresponding photographs of each sample. Consumers evaluated each surface of the cooked steaks in relation to doneness for acceptability, ‘just about right’ and perception of doneness. Data were analysed using a split plot ANOVA and least significant test. Perception scores (for both external and internal surfaces) between different presentation methods (steak samples and corresponding photos), were not significantly different (p > 0.05). The result indicates that photographs can be used as a valid approach for assessing preference for meat doneness.     

Measuring changes in internal meat colour, colour lightness and colour opacity as predictors of cooking time

Consumers and cooks often assess the degree of doneness of roasted beef by the internal meat colour. Real-time colour measurement of the cooking process is therefore developed in order to determine the degree of doneness, and thus the end of the cooking process, by the internal meat colour. The colour values (X, Y, Z) provided by the true colour sensor show significant variation within initial values and end values. Change in colour lightness caused by the increase of meat colour opacity is dominant. Calculating the first deviation of the Y values (dY/dt) indicates that most rapid changes in lightness are within a temperature range of 42 °C and 56 °C. At this temperature, the degree of meat doneness is still assumed to be rare, but it is possible to predict the time needed from this point until the desired degree of doneness is reached.     

In-home consumer and shear force evaluation of steaks from the M. serratus ventralis thoracis

The M. serratus ventralis thoracis was obtained from US Select arm chucks (n = 87) to investigate if this underutilized muscle can be used as a steak alternative. Muscles were assigned randomly into three treatment groups: (1) control; (2) blade tenderization; and (3) injection, containing salt, phosphate, and papain. Steaks were cut from each muscle for in-home consumer evaluation (n = 136) and Warner–Bratzler shear (WBS) force determination. The WBS values for injected steaks (13.1 N) were lower (P < 0.05) than for blade-tenderized (18.4 N) and control (19.9 N) steaks. Tenderness ratings for the injected steaks were higher (P < 0.05) compared to the other treatments when steaks were grilled, oven prepared or were cooked in a skillet; however, this improvement did not significantly influence overall like scores for steaks that were oven prepared or cooked in a skillet. For the most part, degree of doneness did not significantly impact consumer evaluations of steaks prepared by the various cooking methods. However, there was a treatment × degree of doneness interaction for grilled-cooked steaks where increased doneness for blade-tenderized and injected steaks resulted in increased palatability ratings, whereas increased doneness for control steaks generally resulted in lowered palatability ratings. Consumer ratings and WBS values for the M. serratus ventralis thoracis indicate that merchandising steaks from this muscle may be a viable option in the marketplace, especially if blade tenderization or injection processes are used for further enhancement.     

Contribution of lean,fat, muscle color and degree of doneness to pork and beef species flavor

Flavor is an important contributor to consumer acceptability of meat, our objective was to characterize the impact of species-specific fat/lean sources, fat level, degree of doneness and muscle color are on pork and beef flavor. Three separate experiments were conducted. Patties were formulated differently for each experiment in order to evaluate the desired variables. Experiment. 1: Flavor from combination patties (same species lean/fat or combination of species lean/fat) was not impacted by degree of doneness (66 °C vs. 71 °C). Beef flavor was highest in samples made with beef lean, regardless of species fat type. Pork flavor was highest in samples made with pork lean and had higher flavor intensity scores. Experiment. 2: Beef flavor was not increased in all-beef patties formulated with higher fat levels. Pork patties formulated with higher fat content increased pork flavor. Experiment. 3: All-beef and all-pork patties formulated with light or dark lean did not impact flavor in either species.     

Mathematical modeling of thin-layer drying kinetics and moisture diffusivity study of apple slices using infrared conveyor-belt dryer

The drying features of apples at different infrared drying settings were investigated. The drying time, moisture-effective diffusion, and activation energy of infrared dried apples were measured experimentally and statistically as a function of slice thicknesses, radiation intensity, and air velocity. The infrared intensity of 0.225, 0.130, and 0.341 W/cm², slice thicknesses of 6, 4, and 2 mm, and airflow of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m/s were used to dry apple slices. The data shows that the drying time reduced as IR increased, but airflow and slice thickness increased. Eight statistical factors were used to compare 11 alternative mathematical drying models. The experimentally acquired drying curves were matched to the thin-layer drying equations. According to the calculations, the Midilli et al. equation had the greatest (efficiency and R²) and lowest (χ², sum of squared errors, standard error of estimate, standard error, standard deviation of difference) values. As a result, this equation is the best for modeling the drying curves of apple slices across all drying circumstances. The optimum moisture diffusivity value varied from 2.59 to 9.07 × 10⁻¹⁰ m²/s. The mean activation energy was determined to be 19.02–29.83 kJ/mol under various experimental conditions.     

EVALUATING EXPANDED-FOOD SENSORY PROPERTIES BY IMAGE ANALYSIS

The objective of this study was to ascertain whether sensory properties of extruded corn puff texture can be predicted by digital image analysis. Gradient image statistics, such as third moment and standard deviation, run-length statistics, and features computed from fuzzy edge-detected image were used. Visually-determined sensory properties included cell density, cell wall thickness, cell size uniformity. Crushing force between molars and biting force between incisors were among the hardness-related sensory properties. All the sensory properties could be predicted with a coefficient of determination (r²) of 0.89 or higher. In most cases, a polynomial function of an image feature was the best model for predicting sensory scores. Image features derived from the intensity band of a hue, saturation, and intensity color model gave the highest r² values for predicting visually-determined sensory properties. For hardness-related sensory properties, the features derived from saturation band resulted in the best r² values.     

Evaluation of management techniques to conserve water in a mechanical head wash blood removal system

This research objectively evaluated methods to conserve water in a mechanical beef head wash system. Digital images of pre-wash and post-wash beef heads were analyzed to quantify the percentage change in red saturation of the image, which was used as an objective measure of cleanliness. Three types of nozzles (fan, three-hole, venturi) and three water pressures (344, 516, 689 kPa) were evaluated in a two-way treatment structure. An interaction (P = 0.07) was observed between water pressure and nozzle type; the change in red saturation increased as pressure decreased for fan and three-hole nozzles which contrasted with venturi nozzles. The fan nozzle × 516 kPa pressure treatment used 25 L of water per head washed and was used to evaluate the effect of three water temperatures (15, 38, 57 °C). Water temperature did not impact (P = 0.21) change in red saturation. Reducing water wastage and minimizing the use of heated water could have positive economic benefits to the beef processor.     

Conservation of water for washing beef heads at harvest

The objective of this research was to develop methods to conserve water necessary to cleanse beef heads prior to USDA–FSIS inspection. This was to be accomplished by establishing a baseline for the minimum amount of water necessary to adequately wash a head and application of image analysis to provide an objective measure of head cleaning. Twenty-one beef heads were manually washed during the harvest process. An average 18.75 L (2.49 SD) and a maximum of 23.88 L were required to cleanse the heads to USDA–FSIS standards. Digital images were captured before and after manual washing then evaluated for percentage red saturation using commercially available image analysis software. A decaying exponential curve extracted from these data indicated that as wash water increased beyond 20 L the impact on red saturation decreased. At 4σ from the mean of 18.75 L, red saturation is 16.0 percent, at which logistic regression analysis indicates 99.994 percent of heads would be accepted for inspection, or less than 1 head in 15,000 would be rejected. Reducing to 3σ would increase red saturation to 27.6 percent, for which 99.730 percent of heads likely would be accepted (less than 1 in 370 would be rejected).     

Determination of Allura red in food samples after cloud point extraction using mixed micelles

A cloud point extraction process using mixed micelles of CTAB, Triton X-114 and Triton X-100 for preconcentration and spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of Allura red in food samples was developed. The effect of different parameters such as concentration of surfactants, electrolyte concentration, temperature and pH on the cloud point extraction of Allura red was studied in detail and a set of optimum conditions were established. A linear calibration curve in the range of 20–1400 μg/L of Allura red was obtained. Detection limit based on 3S_b was 7.8 μg/L and the relative standard deviation for 75 μg/L of Allura red was 3.87 (n = 10). The method was applied to the determination of Allura red in food samples such as candy, soft drink and jellies.     

Application of Image Texture Analysis for Evaluation of X-Ray Images of Fungal-Infected Maize Kernels

The feasibility of image texture analysis to evaluate X-ray images of fungal-infected maize kernels was investigated. X-ray images of maize kernels infected with Fusarium verticillioides and control kernels were acquired using high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography. After image acquisition and pre-processing, several algorithms were developed to extract image textural features from selected two-dimensional (2D) images of the kernels. Four first-order statistics (mean, standard deviation, kurtosis and skewness) and four grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) features (correlation, energy, homogeneity and contrast) were extracted from the side, front and top views of each kernel and used as inputs for principal component analysis (PCA). The first-order statistical image features gave a better separation of the control from infected kernels on day 8 post-inoculation. Classification models were developed using partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and accuracies of 67 and 73% were achieved using first-order statistical features and GLCM extracted features, respectively. This work provides information on the possible application of image texture as method for analysing X-ray images.     

Fast determination of arsenic,selenium, nickel and vanadium in fish and shellfish by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry following ultrasound-assisted extraction

Ultrasound-assisted extraction of As, Se, Ni and V from fish and shellfish has been applied as a fast and reliable sample pre-treatment method for accurate determination of the four elements by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry with Zeeman (As, Se) or Deuterium (Ni, V) background correction. A multivariate optimization approach has been employed for establishing the effect of variables influencing the extraction process. Under suitable conditions, quantitative extractions occurred from a 10 mass sample (particle size <100 μm) suspended in 1.5 mL of acidic extractant (0.5 or 3% v/v HNO₃) and subjected to high intensity ultrasound (50% amplitude; 3 min). The method was successfully validated against the following certified reference materials: NRCC-DORM-2 dogfish muscle, NRCC-DOLT-2 dogfish liver, NRCC-TORT-2 lobster hepatopancreas, NIST-SRM 1566b oyster tissue and BCR 627 tuna fish. The following seafood samples were analyzed: hake (Merluccius merluccius), sole (Solea solea), clam (Venerupis rhomboides), prawn (Panaeus kerathurus), cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), shrimp (Palaemon elegans), razor shell (Ensis ensis), cockle (Cardium edule), Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), edible crab (Cancer pagurus), meagrin (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis). The concentration ranges (μg/g, dry weight) for the elements determined were as follows: As (12.6–190), Se (0.73–2.34), Ni (2.94–46) and V (0.82–5.14). The detection limits (LODs), defined as 3s/m (s being the standard deviation of 10 blank and m the slope of the calibration graph), in dry tissue were 0.6, 0.3, 0.2 and 0.4 μg/g for As, Se, Ni and V, respectively. Between-batch precision was expressed as relative standard deviation from three separate extractions was in the range 3–10%.     

Hexanal as biomarker for milk oxidative stress induced by copper ions

Milk flavor varies greatly due to oxidative stress during storage. Several studies have documented the use of volatile biomarkers for determining milk oxidation, but only a few have focused on the development of inline procedures enabling the monitoring of milk oxidative stress. In this work, oxidative stress was induced in pasteurized milk samples by spiking increasing concentrations of copper ions (from 0 to 32 mg·L^?1). During storage (4°C), hexanal evolution was monitored by a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer. The mass fragment m/z 83 was selected as a biomarker for hexanal determination. Its intensity evolved with a sigmoidal trend, showing a maximum rate proportional to the Cu²⁺ content in milk. The proposed approach is simple, fast (up to 120 sample/h), sensitive (8.8 μg·m^?3 per μM hexanal in the sample), with low limit of detection (0.5 μM, determined as 3 times the standard deviation divided by the slope of a calibration line), precise (<6%), with good recovery (99–104%), and noninvasive. The method can be used for laboratory screening of milk susceptibility toward oxidation or for quality control in the processing line.     

Consumer Assessment of Beef Tenderloin Steaks from Various USDA Quality Grades at 3 Degrees of Doneness

A consumer study was conducted to determine palatability ratings of beef tenderloin steaks from USDA Choice, USDA Select, and USDA Select with marbling scores from Slight 50 to 100 (USDA High Select) cooked to various degrees of doneness. Steaks were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 degree of doneness categories: very‐rare, medium‐rare, or well‐done. Consumers (N = 315) were screened for preference of degree of doneness and fed 4 samples of their preferred doneness (a warm‐up and one from each USDA quality grade treatment in a random order). Consumers evaluated steaks on an 8‐point verbally anchored hedonic scale for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall like as well as rated steaks as acceptable or unacceptable for all palatability traits. Quality grade had no effect (P > 0.05) on consumer ratings for tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall like scores, with all traits averaging above a 7 (“like very much”) on the 8‐point scale. In addition, no differences (P > 0.05) were found in the percentage of samples rated as acceptable for all palatability traits, with more than 94% of samples rated acceptable for each trait in all quality grades evaluated. Steaks cooked to well‐done had lower (P < 0.05) juiciness scores than steaks cooked to very‐rare or medium‐rare and were rated lower for tenderness (P < 0.05) than steaks cooked to a very‐rare degree of doneness. Results indicate consumers were not able to detect differences in tenderness, juiciness, flavor, or overall like among beef tenderloin steaks from USDA Choice and Select quality grades.     

Maturity sorting index of dragon fruit: Hylocereus polyrhizus

The purpose of this research was to investigate maturity prediction of red flesh dragon fruit based on non-destructive measures. Specific weight, sphericity, color value L, a, b and light reflectance spectrum were linearly combined by partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis. The PLSR models could predict days after fruit set, weight ratio and total soluble solids relatively well with standard deviation divided by standard error of prediction (RPD) of 2.86, 2.45 and 2.38, respectively. Date after fruit set, total soluble solids, total acid, ratio of total soluble solids and total acidity and weight ratio were transformed into a principal component 1 (PC1) by the principal component analysis and used to represent a single maturity index. The PLSR model with non-destructive parameters resulted in an improved performance in the prediction of the maturity index (PC1) with a RPD increase to 3.49. The model could be further simplified but retained a comparable accuracy by the application of a log (R680/R550) in place of the light reflectance spectrum.     

Classification of red and white wines by denomination of origin according to phenolic composition and colour characteristics and correlation with standard parameters

The two main phenolic compounds, namely anthocyanins and tannins, and some chromatic characteristics have been determined in 437 samples of red and white wines from northwest of Spain, which were commercialised in two consecutive years (2005 and 2006). The variation range for total polyphenol index (TPI) was 4.1–16.6 and 27.8–91.9 in white and red wines, respectively. Standard parameters were also investigated. The classification successful by Denominations of Origin was near 50% for both red and white wines. Statistical correlations among standard and colour parameters were established to find a simple methodology usually used in winery that permits to provide more complete information for the oenologist. So, a significant correlation was found for TPI or chromatic intensity and volume mass in red wines (0.547–0.583, P < 0.01), while tonality can be estimated from pH (0.601, P < 0.01). No lineal relationship was found in white wines.     

Multicommuted Flow Analysis Procedure for Total Polyphenols Determination in Wines Employing Chemiluminescence Detection

A flow procedure based on a multicommuted flow analysis process for the determination of polyphenolic compounds in wine employing chemiluminescence as detection technique is described. The method was based on the reaction of hypochlorite with gallic acid, the remaining hypochlorite reacted with luminol in an alkaline medium generating electromagnetic radiation with maximum emission at 425 nm. The luminescence intensity presented an inverse relationship to the concentration of polyphenol compounds, which was monitored employing a homemade luminometer. The flow system manifold was designed to use solenoid mini-pumps for propelling fluids in order to obtain a setup of downsized dimension. After setting the variables control of the flow system and the concentrations of the reagent, the following features were achieved: a linear response ranging from 10 to 100 mg L^?1 gallic acid (R ²?=?0.997), a relative standard deviation of 3.4 (n?=?11) for a 50 mg L^?1 gallic acid solution, a detection limit of 6.6 mg L^?1, a sampling throughput of 180 determination h^?1, and a waste generation of 1.1 mL per determination.     

PEF treatments of high specific energy permit the reduction of maceration time during vinification of Caladoc and Grenache grapes

Phenolic compounds extracted from the solid parts of the grapes during the maceration-fermentation stage define many of the sensory attributes of red wine such as color, bitterness or astringency.The effect of moderate a PEF treatment (M-PEF) (5 kV·cm⁻¹, 8.8 kJ·kg⁻¹) and an intense PEF treatment (I-PEF) (5 kV·cm⁻¹, 52.9 kJ·kg⁻¹) on the reduction of maceration time during vinification of Caladoc and Grenache grapes was investigated.In both grape varieties, M-PEF treatment combined with 4 days of maceration was the most effective treatment in achieving high anthocyanin content, color intensity and total phenol index at the end of fermentation. The I-PEF treatment promoted a rapid release of anthocyanins and phenolic compounds, along with a fast increment in the color intensity of the must after 24 h of maceration. Although the color intensity and anthocyanin content decreased significantly throughout fermentation when grape pomace was removed after 24 h, these parameters were similar, after 3 months of bottling, in the case of Caladoc and slightly lower in Grenache than the control wine, for which maceration was extended for 10 days.Therefore, results obtained in this investigation are the first to demonstrate the potential of I-PEF for the reduction of maceration time to 24 h in red winemaking.     

Enhancing Fluorescence LC Analysis of Biogenic Amines in Fish Tissues by Precolumn Derivatization with Naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde

This work reports a sensitive high-pressure liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of biogenic mono- and diamines in fish tissues. Highly fluorescent derivatives of the amines were obtained by precolumn derivatization with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde, in the presence of cyanide ion as the nucleophile and of heptylamine as the internal standard. The chromatographic separation was performed using a mobile phase of acetonitrile/methanol/10 % (v/v) acetone in water, delivered in gradient mode on an Inertsil ODS-3 column (250?×?4 mm i.d., 5 μm). The method was successfully applied to the analysis of fresh and canned tuna fish tissues, subjected to ultrasound-assisted liquid–liquid extraction. The variables affecting the derivatization yield as well as the extraction recovery of the analytes from the sample matrix were investigated. Results were quantified against the internal standard, according to the matrix-matched approach. Limits of detection between 2.5 and 330 mg kg^?1 sample were achieved. The precision and accuracy of assay in samples was satisfactory, yielding relative standard deviation and recovery values between 0.3 and 4.2 % and 81.0 and 102.5 %, respectively.     

烹饪熟度对牛肉肌原纤维蛋白结构特性和氧化特性的影响

为了研究烹饪过程肌原纤维蛋白结构的变化规律,本研究以不同熟度（未加热处理（对照组）、一分熟、三分熟、五分熟、七分熟、全熟和过熟）的牛背最长肌肌原纤维蛋白为研究对象,分析比较在熟制过程中,烹饪熟度对蛋白聚集特性、氧化程度的影响,并检测蛋白二级结构相对含量的变化。结果表明,烹饪过程明显影响肌原纤维蛋白的聚集行为、氧化特性和结构特性。从对照组到过熟,随着烹饪熟度的增加,肌原纤维蛋白在溶液中的状态逐渐由聚集向解聚转化;蛋白羰基含量逐渐升高,表面疏水性、巯基含量呈现先升高后降低的变化趋势;二酪氨酸荧光强度、内源荧光强度随熟度的变化呈现先升高后降低然后又升高的U型变化趋势;衰减全反射傅里叶变换红外光谱分析结果表明,五分熟是肌原纤维蛋白二级结构相对含量发生变化的拐点,从对照组到五分熟,蛋白β-折叠相对含量降低,α-螺旋相对含量保持稳定,蛋白主要以分子内聚集为主,从五分熟到过熟,β-折叠相对含量逐渐增加,α-螺旋相对含量先升高后降低,蛋白以分子间聚集为主。通过十二烷基硫酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳分析发现,肌球蛋白重链、α-肌动素和肌动蛋白3 种蛋白参与了肌原纤维蛋白的热聚集行为,在熟制过程中,肌球蛋白重链和肌动蛋白灰度总体呈现先升高后降低的变化趋势,α-肌动素的灰度则总体呈现持续增大的变化趋势,具体变化机制有待进一步研究。本研究结果可为西餐牛排煎制工艺优化和品质控制提供理论依据。