Applied and Emerging Methods for Meat Tenderization: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The tenderization process, which can be influenced by both pre-and post-slaughter interventions, begins immediately after an animal's death and is followed with the disruption of the muscle structure by endogenous proteolytic systems. The post-slaughter technological interventions like electrical stimulation, suspension methods, blade tenderization, tumbling, use of exogenous enzymes, and traditional aging are some of the methods currently employed by the meat industry for improving tenderness. Over the time, technological advancement resulted in development of several novel methods, for maximizing the tenderness, which are being projected as quick, economical, nonthermal, green, and energy-efficient technologies. Comparison of these advanced technological methods with the current applied industrial methods is necessary to understand the feasibility and benefits of the novel technology. This review discusses the benefits and advantages of different emerging tenderization techniques such as hydrodynamic-pressure processing, high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, SmartStretch TM , Pi-Vac Elasto-Pack R system, and some of the current applied methods used in the meat industry.

Calpain activity, myofibrillar protein profile, and physicochemical properties of beef Semimembranosus and Biceps femoris from culled dairy cows during aging

“…Although the impact of postmortem aging on beef tenderness is well established (Bhat, Morton, Mason, & Bekhit, ; Bratcher, Johnson, Littell, & Gwartney, ; Colle et al, ; Dixon et al, ; Gruber et al, ), relatively few experiments have examined the effects of aging on the quality of beef from older animals. The changes in the calpain activity and the protein profile of the muscles from culled dairy cows during aging are poorly explored and further understanding of the biochemical processes is needed to design useful approaches for tenderization.…”

Application of High-Power Ultrasound in the Food Industry

“…However, the effect of high-power ultrasound on meat tenderization is not entirely clear, and this is likely because there are many factors that influence its effect, such as the characteristics of the ultrasonic field, the time of exposure, the animal species, and the type of muscle, among others. Some authors state that those studies in which ultrasound application had no effect would be due to the low ultrasonic densities (0.29-1.55 W/cm 2 ) or short treatment times (15 s) applied [111][112][113]. In any case, there are systems already in the market for tendering meat based on ultrasound [114].…”

Effect of High Pressure, Calcium Chloride and ZnO-Ag Nanoparticles on Beef Color and Shear Stress

“…The lightness (L*), redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) were recorded, and the hue angle (H°) and chroma (C*) indexes were calculated as ℎ = tan −1 ( * * ) • 180°, expressed in degrees, and * = √( * ) 2 + ( * ) 2 . The relative contents of metmyoglobin (MMb) and oxymyoglobin (MbO2) were estimated by the ratios K/S572/525 [21,22] and K/S610/525, respectively [21,23].…”

“…Additionally, the ratio of light reflectance at 630 and 580 nm (R630/R580) [24,25] was calculated. Finally, the color difference between two stimuli (ΔE) was calculated as ∆E*=√(∆L*) 2 +(∆a*) 2 +(∆b*) 2 , only in the cases in which it was necessary to explain human eyedetectible differences [25].…”

“…The high-pressure technique is applied in the food industry mainly to inactivate microbial growth, resulting in safety and extending the shelf life of products [1,2], but it can also be used to improve meat tenderness. Nevertheless, although the use of high pressure in meat tenderization is well known [2][3][4], its implementation in industry has been limited because the effect of high pressure on meat texture depends on several factors, such as the pressure applied, temperature, time, muscle and aging period. In addition, the application of high pressure promotes intense decoloration [1], which can cause consumer rejection since color is one of the most important factors in buying decisions [5].…”