Microbial safety and physicochemical characteristics of electron beam irradiated whole egg powder

Modifying the Functional Properties of Egg Proteins Using Novel Processing Techniques: A Review

Egg proteins can be used in a wide range of food products, owing to their excellent foaming, emulsifying, and gelling properties. Another important functional property is the susceptibility of egg proteins to enzymatic hydrolysis, as protein digestion is closely related to its nutritional value. These functional properties of egg proteins are likely to be changed during food processing. Conventional thermal processing can easily induce protein denaturation and aggregation and consequently reduce the functionality of egg proteins due to the presence of heat-labile proteins. Accordingly, there is interest from the food industry in seeking novel nonthermal or low-thermal techniques that sustain protein functionality. To understand how novel processing techniques, including high hydrostatic pressure, pulsed electric fields, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet light, pulsed light, ultrasound, ozone, and high pressure homogenization, affect protein functionality, this review introduces the mechanisms involved in protein structure modification and describes the structure-functionality relationships. Novel techniques differ in their mechanisms of protein structure modification and some have been shown to improve protein functionality for particular treatment conditions and product forms. Although there is considerable industrial potential for the use of novel techniques, further studies are required to make them a practical reality, as the processing of egg proteins often involves other influencing factors, such as different pH and the presence of other food additives (for example, salts, sugar, and polysaccharides).

Microbial, Physicochemical, and Sensory Characteristics of Quality Grade 2 Beef Enhanced by Injection of Pineapple Concentrate and Honey

This study investigated the effect of injecting pineapple concentrate and honey into low marbled beef in order to enhance its sensory qualities, particularly tenderness and flavor, without compromising its fresh appearance. Beef loin was injected with a solution of 6.0% pineapple concentrate, 2.5% honey, 0.5% monosodium L-glutamate, 0.5% phosphate, and 0.3% salt (w/w) to 120% (w/w) of initial meat weight and stored for 14 d. Non-injected beef loin served as a control. Total aerobic bacterial counts, surface meat color, shear force, reducing sugar content, and sensory evaluation of the beef were analyzed at 0.5, 7, and 14 d of storage. Injection did not affect the total aerobic bacterial counts or color of the beef. However, injection increased the stability of meat color, compared with that of the control, during storage. The shear force value was significantly lower in the injected beef than that in the control. The injected beef had a significantly higher reducing sugar content compared with that of the control. In sensory evaluation, tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall acceptance of the injected beef were significantly higher than those of the control at 0.5 d. In conclusion, injection of pineapple concentrate and honey can improve the sensory qualities of low marbled beef, during short storage periods, without changing the fresh appearance of the beef.