Quality Attributes and Shelf Life of High-Pressure Preserved Beef as Affected by Pre-treatment Conditions

Beneficial effects of Jerusalem artichoke powder and olive oil as animal fat replacers and natural healthy compound sources in Harbin dry sausages

This study aimed to improve the nutritional quality of Harbin dry sausages using natural plant-based Jerusalem artichoke powder (JAP) and olive oil as animal fat replacers. Low-fat Harbin dry sausages were manufactured with 2 different formulations containing JAP and olive oil as pork fat replacers. The texture, rheological properties, microstructure, water holding capacity, muscle protein structure, physicochemical indices, microbiological characteristics, and sensory evaluation of the sausages were analyzed. The result showed that Harbin dry sausages with JAP and olive oil were healthier than control sausages based on the lower fat content and improved fatty acid composition. Scanning electron microscopy showed gel network formation in sausages with a high JAP content. Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance illustrated that the water-holding capacity of the modified sausages was improved, suggesting that the replacers enhanced protein gel formation by changes in C-H stretching and bending vibrations, a reduction in α-helixes, and increases in β-sheets and random coils accompanying the exposure of reactive groups and microenvironment of the tertiary structure. Dynamic rheological and texture tests indicated that the replacers improved the elasticity of sausages. The reduction of fat and addition of replacers significantly enhanced lipid oxidative resistance. Overall, JAP and olive oil improved the fatty acid composition, gel structure, lipid oxidative resistance, and sensory quality of the sausages. These results may contribute to the development of healthy meat products to further reduce animal fat.

High-pressure processing of meat: Molecular impacts and industrial applications

High-pressure processing (HPP) has been the most adopted nonthermal processing technology in the food industry with a current ever-growing implementation, and meat products represent about a quarter of the HPP foods. The intensive research conducted in the last decades has described the molecular impacts of HPP on microorganisms and endogenous meat components such as structural proteins, enzyme activities, myoglobin and meat color chemistry, and lipids, resulting in the characterization of the mechanisms responsible for most of the texture, color, and oxidative changes observed when meat is submitted to HPP. These molecular mechanisms with major effect on the safety and quality of muscle foods are comprehensively reviewed. The understanding of the high pressure-induced molecular impacts has permitted a directed use of the HPP technology, and nowadays, HPP is applied as a cold pasteurization method to inactive vegetative spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms in ready-to-eat cold cuts and to extend shelf life, allowing the reduction of food waste and the gain of market boundaries in a globalized economy. Yet, other applications of HPP have been explored in detail, namely, its use for meat tenderization and for structure formation in the manufacturing of processed meats, though these two practices have scarcely been taken up by industry. This review condenses the most pertinent-related knowledge that can unlock the utilization of these two mainstream transformation processes of meat and facilitate the development of healthier clean label processed meats and a rapid method for achieving sous vide tenderness. Finally, scientific and technological challenges still to be overcome are discussed in order to leverage the development of innovative applications using HPP technology for the future meat industry.