The hydrodyne: a new process to improve beef tenderness.

Abstract

The organoleptic trait most affecting consumer acceptance of beef is tenderness. The Hydrodyne process uses a small amount of explosive to generate a shock wave in water. The shock wave passes through (in fractions of a millisecond) objects in the water that are an acoustic match with water. Four beef muscles (longissimus, semimembranosus, biceps femoris, and semitendinosus) exposed to either 50, 75, or 100 g of explosives were significantly tenderized compared with controls. As much as a 72% reduction in shear force was observed for the longissimus muscle using 100 g of explosives. Reductions in shear force with magnitudes of 30 to 59% improvements were observed for the other three muscle types. Results suggest that tenderizing beef with the Hydrodyne process presents a potentially novel opportunity in the way the meat industry can tenderize meat.

Influence of sonication on Warner-Bratzler shear force, colour and myoglobin of beef (m. semimembranosus)

“…Meat tenderness can be controlled by manipulating postslaughter conditions through the use of physical methods, such as electrical stimulation [4] and tenderstretch (pelvic suspension) of the prerigor carcass [5]. Postrigor meat tenderness can also be improved by mechanical methods such as blade tenderization [6], highpressure technology [7] or Hydrodyne process [8]. The importance of tenderness in determining meat acceptability and the need for processes giving consistent and rapid improvements in tenderness mean that other processes must be evaluated.…”

Effect of hydrodynamic pressure processing on the survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in ground beef

“…high pressure processing, high intensity pulsed light, X-rays and electron beams (Hugas, Garriga, & Monfrod, 2002) have been investigated over the years due to increased consumer demand for high-quality, minimally processed and microbiologically safe foods. Hydrodynamic pressure processing (HDP) is an emerging, nonthermal process that has been extensively studied at the Food Technology and Safety Laboratory (Beltsville, MD) for improving meat tenderness (Solomon, 1998 supersonic-hydrodynamic shock wave (Solomon, Long, & Eastridge, 1997) that moves through objects submerged in a water-filled treatment unit. The mechanical force of the shock waves that produce tenderization may also cause mechanical stress on bacteria and have a bactericidal effect.…”

Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes by underwater shock waves

“…Shock waves, generated by detonation of a small amount of explosives in water, have been used to tenderize meat. Shock wavemeat tenderization reduced bacterial counts (Solomon, Long, & Eastridge, 1997) and resulted in partial inactivation of Trichinella spiralis from infected pork (Gamble, Solomon, & Long, 1998).…”