Quality properties of pre- and post-rigor beef muscle after interventions with high frequency ultrasound

Abstract

The delivery of a consistent quality product to the consumer is vitally important for the food industry. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for using high frequency ultrasound applied to pre- and post-rigor beef muscle on the metabolism and subsequent quality. High frequency ultrasound (600kHz at 48kPa and 65kPa acoustic pressure) applied to post-rigor beef striploin steaks resulted in no significant effect on the texture (peak force value) of cooked steaks as measured by a Tenderometer. There was no added benefit of ultrasound treatment above that of the normal ageing process after ageing of the steaks for 7days at 4°C. Ultrasound treatment of post-rigor beef steaks resulted in a darkening of fresh steaks but after ageing for 7days at 4°C, the ultrasound-treated steaks were similar in colour to that of the aged, untreated steaks. High frequency ultrasound (2MHz at 48kPa acoustic pressure) applied to pre-rigor beef neck muscle had no effect on the pH, but the calculated exhaustion factor suggested that there was some effect on metabolism and actin-myosin interaction. However, the resultant texture of cooked, ultrasound-treated muscle was lower in tenderness compared to the control sample. After ageing for 3weeks at 0°C, the ultrasound-treated samples had the same peak force value as the control. High frequency ultrasound had no significant effect on the colour parameters of pre-rigor beef neck muscle. This proof-of-concept study showed no effect of ultrasound on quality but did indicate that the application of high frequency ultrasound to pre-rigor beef muscle shows potential for modifying ATP turnover and further investigation is warranted.

Time matters when ultrasonicating beef: The best time for tenderness is not the best for reducing microbial counts

“…Nevertheless, effects of HIU on meat are contradictory. Some authors have reported a significant increase in tenderness (Alarcón‐Rojo et al, ; Chang, Xu, Zhou, Li, & Huang, ; Hu et al, ; Smith, Cannon, Novakofski, McKeith, & O'Brien, ), while others have found no effect (Got et al, ; Lyng, Allen, & McKenna, ; Sikes, Mawson, Stark, & Warner, ) or even negative effects (Ozuna, Puig, García‐Pérez, Mulet, & Cárcel, ). Some of this contradiction can be attributed to the inconsistency in time used when applying HIU.…”

“…Likely, only some durations provide ideal conditions creating structural changes in meat fibers. In meat, frequency ranges of 15 kHz–2.6 MHz, intensity ranges of 0.29–10 W cm −2 , and time ranges of 15 s to 90 min, individually applied per side, have been reported (Alarcon‐Rojo, Carrillo‐Lopez, Reyes‐Villagrana, Huerta‐Jiménez, & Garcia‐Galicia, ; Got et al, ; Lyng et al, ; Pohlman, Dikeman, & Kropf, ; Sikes et al, ). However, the widest used frequencies in foods are in the range of 20–1 mHz and intensities >10 W cm −2 (Ashokkumar, ).…”

“…Some authors have reported a significant increase in tenderness (Alarcón-Rojo et al, 2015;Chang, Xu, Zhou, Li, & Huang, 2012;Hu et al, 2014;Smith, Cannon, Novakofski, McKeith, & O'Brien, 1991), while others have found no effect (Got et al, 1999;Lyng, Allen, & McKenna, 1997;Sikes, Mawson, Stark, & Warner, 2014) or even negative effects (Ozuna, Puig, García-Pérez, Mulet, & Cárcel, 2013). Some of this con- Pohlman, Dikeman, & Kropf, 1997;Sikes et al, 2014). However, the widest used frequencies in foods are in the range of 20-1 mHz and intensities >10 W cm −2 (Ashokkumar, 2015).…”

Applied and Emerging Methods for Meat Tenderization: A Comparative Perspective

“…Power‐ultrasound has also been reported to reduce muscle fiber diameter and thermal stability of collagen in beef and suggested hypothesis by the authors was that improvement in tenderness was the effect of ultrasound on collagen characteristics (Chang, Xu, Zhou, Li, & Huang, ). Several studies conducted on the use of low‐intensity ultrasound have reported no beneficial effect on meat tenderization (Lyng, Allen, & Mckenna, , ; Sikes, Mawson, Stark, & Warner, ) indicating the importance of the intensity when using ultrasound.…”

“…Sikes et al. () also observed the effects on metabolism with no improvement in tenderness of the pre‐rigor beef semimembranosus muscle, indicating the potential of the process for the treatment of DFD (dark, firm, and dry) meat by metabolic process modifications (Terefe et al., ). Ozuna, Puig, García‐Pérez, Mulet, and Cárcel () studied the effect of high‐intensity ultrasound on the textural properties of brined pork longissimus dorsi muscle.…”