11:45 AM - 12:00 PM
[4-1015-A-07] Pulsed electric fields applications in fresh meat
Keywords:meat, pulsed electric field, non-thermal, tenderness, quality
Pulsed electric fields (PEF) is a novel minimal processing technology that is applied to produce high quality food products with a natural flavour and fresh appearance and is gaining recognition due to the increasing demands of consumers for fresh and natural foods. The technology involves the application of an external electric field to induce electroporation, and formation of pores that increases the membrane and cellular permeability. Over the last 6 years, there has been much interest to use PEF to modify the properties of fresh meat. Our lab was the first to demonstrate the potential use of PEF in meat tenderization and achieved about 20% increase in tenderness of longissimus and semimembranosus beef muscles using various PEF processing intensities. This improvement in tenderness did not affect other major quality attributes such as colour and lipid oxidation. Further research from our lab demonstrated an early activation of Calpains, calcium activated proteases that are naturally found in the muscles and are involved in postmortem degradation of structural proteins. Recently, we used PEF to accelerate the dry aging of meat and demonstrated the ability to reduce the processing time to about half of its normal value. Further, the technology was also found to influence the diffusion, distribution and release of sodium from meat matrix and thus could be utilized as tool to reduce the sodium in processed meat products. This presentation will highlight the various potential applications of PEF in fresh meat and discuss the mechanisms responsible for the potential positive outcomes in PEF treated meat. Furthermore, negative aspects of PEF use will be also discussed with the aim of providing complete information on PEF application in fresh meat processing for proper evaluation of commercial use of the technology.