Exploring the Effect of Pulsed Electric Fields on the Technological Properties of Chicken Meat

Abstract

Pulsed electric field (PEF) is a non-thermal technology which is increasingly drawing the interest of the meat industry. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of PEF on the main technological properties of chicken meat, by investigating the role of the most relevant process parameters such as the number of pulses (150 vs. 300 and 450 vs. 600) and the electric field strength (0.60 vs. 1.20 kV/cm). Results indicated that PEF does not exert any effect on meat pH and just slightly affects lightness and yellowness. Low-intensity PEF treatments improved the water holding capacity of chicken meat by significantly (p < 0.001) reducing drip loss up to 28.5% during 4 days of refrigerated storage, without damaging proteins’ integrity and functionality. Moreover, from the analysis of the process parameters, it has been possible to highlight that increasing the number of pulses is more effective in reducing meat drip loss rather than doubling the electric field strengths. From an industrial point of view, the results of this explorative study suggested the potential of PEF to reduce the undesired liquid inside the package, thus improving consumer acceptance.

Evaluation of ultrasound and pulsed electric field combinations on the cooking Losses, texture Profile, and Taste-Related amino acids of chicken breast meat

“…The observed minimal effect of ultrasound pretreatment on chicken breast meat pH suggests that the chosen parameters did not induce substantial alterations in cellular structures or promote the release of intracellular components that could significantly influence pH [33] . Similarly, previous studies found a non-significant impact of different PEF treatments (0.60–1.20 kV/cm) on the pH values of chicken [27] and beef [35] , [36] . Conversely, PEF treatment, particularly at higher intensities, has a clear influence on muscle tissue pH [37] .…”

“…The hue angle (h 0 ), saturation ( C* ), and total color difference (ΔE) were determined using the following equations: Where L* values measure darkness to lightness (larger values indicate a lighter color), whereas a* value measures redness (positive values indicate a redder color, and negative values indicate a greener color). However, b* values measure yellowness (positive values indicate yellowness, and negative values indicate blueness) [27] .…”

Improving water retention of chicken breast meats by CaCl2 combined with pulsed electric fields

“…For instance, breakage around the Z-disk could allow water to flow from the outside myofibrils space to inside, thereby increasing WHC (Zeng et al, 2017). However, very few studies have reported the effect of PEF treatment on chicken meat quality (Gudmundsson & Hafsteinsson, 2001;Khan et al, 2017;Baldi et al, 2021). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the effect of the synergistic treatment of PEF and CaCl 2 on water retention in chicken breast meats.…”

Finite element simulation and practical tests on Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) for packaged food pasteurization: inactivating E. coli, C. difficile, Salmonella spp. and mesophilic bacteria

“…PEF to reduce the undesired liquid inside the package. Faridnia et al, 2015;Baldi et al, 2021;Karki et al, 2022 Peptides isolated from pine and pecan nuts Preservation -1800 Hz and 15 kV/cm. PEF have been reported to increase the total oil extraction yield…”