Effect of High Pressure on Physicochemical Properties of Meat

Abstract

The application of high pressure offers some interesting opportunities in the processing of muscle-based food products. It is well known that high-pressure processing can prolong the shelf life of meat products in addition to chilling but the pressure-labile nature of protein systems limits the commercial range of applications. High pressure can affect the texture and gel-forming properties of myofibrillar proteins and, hence, has been suggested as a physical and additive-free alternative to tenderize and soften or restructure meat and fish products. However, the rate and magnitude at which pressure and temperature effects take place in muscles are variable and depend on a number of circumstances and conditions that are still not precisely known. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge of the effects of high pressure on muscle tissue over a range of temperatures as it relates to meat texture, microstructure, color, enzymes, lipid oxidation, and pressure-induced gelation of myofibrillar proteins.

Protein Changes Caused by High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP): A Study Using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy

“…On the other hand, a substantial decrease in denaturation enthalpy of surimi prepared from prerigor Tilapia fillet as compared with postrigor Tilapia fillet that was also reported by Park et al [31]. Changes in the protein thermal profile in the postrigor state can be attributable to the biochemical, metabolic, and microbiological changes experienced by the muscles during the rigor resolution stage (Buckow et al 2013). The HHP treatments had a marked influence on the thermal stability of muscle proteins.…”

A meta‐analysis of the effect of high pressure processing on four quality traits of fresh pork

“…In the last two decades, many studies have been performed to understand the effects of HPP on meat quality parameters. These effects have also been comprehensively reviewed by many researches (i.e., Bajovic et al, ; Buckow, Sikes, & Tume, ; Sikes & Warner, ; Simonin, Duranton & de Lamballerie, ; Sun & Holley, ). In case of pork meat, one of the most important quality traits is postmortem pH decline and the extent to which it drops.…”

Application of high-pressure processing for safety and shelf-life quality of meat – a review

“…Colour changes due to oxidation of ferrous myoglobin into ferric metmyoglobin. To reach microbial inactivation in meat, usually pressure above 400 MPa is applied, as the result of such pressure increase, meat discoloration occurs due to the protein denaturation (Wackerbarth et al, 2009) It has often been reported that even by application of pressure above 200 MPa drastically changes the appearance of red meat within a few minutes of treatment at low temperatures (Tintchev et al, 2010;Buckow, 2013). Most studies report increase of lightness (L*) in the pressure range 200-350 MPa turning red colour of meat into a paler pink, redness (a*) is observed to decrease in values at 400-500 MPa, resulting in a greybrown meat with a cooked-like appearance, however, this is the more variable parameter and dependent on experimental design (i.e., type of meat, minced or whole muscle, and HPP conditions), and yellowness (b*) either increases or is not affected…”

“…Lipid oxidation is not usually evident immediately after HPP but may become evident during chilled storage. Such oxidation affects quality through flavour deterioration (rancidity), colour changes, loss of nutritive value, and alterations of textural and functional properties through associated protein denaturation(Fuentes et al, 2010;Buckow, 2013). There are suggested possibilities to inhibit the lipid oxidation by limiting oxygen availability in the packaging, use of antioxidant active packaging or use of different antioxidants derived from natural by-products and their combination(Mariutti et al, 2008;Bolumar et al, 2011;Alves et al, 2012).…”