A comparative study of vacuum tumbling and immersion marination on quality, microstructure, and protein changes of Xueshan chicken

Marination is a common technology in meat processing with advantages of enhancing tenderness, water retention, and overall quality. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of vacuum tumbling and immersion marination on meat quality, microstructure, water mobility, protein changes, and denaturation of Xueshan chicken. Results showed that vacuum tumbling significantly increased the marinating rate of chicken, tenderness, meat texture, and water retention. Meanwhile, vacuum tumbling decreased total sulfhydryl content alongside an increased protein surface hydrophobicity and free sulfhydryl content, indicating that vacuum tumbling elevated the degree of protein denaturation. Further, the peak area corresponding to the relaxation time T22 after vacuum tumbling was significantly higher than that of immersion marination, suggesting that the stability of the immobilized water of chicken was reduced by vacuum tumbling. Compared to immersion marination, vacuum tumbling improved myofibril fragmentation index (MFI) presenting fewer myofibrillar protein bands in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) gel and more damaged muscular cells. Overall, vacuum tumbling could improve the marination absorptivity, protein degradation, and denaturation, resulting in changes in myofibril structure and meat quality of Xueshan chicken.

A review on underwater shockwave processing and its application in food technology

Underwater shockwave processing (USP) is a non-thermal food processing method where a high-energy impulse is generated near a food product submerged in a liquid. The resulting shockwave transfers energy to the food, and is used to improve quality, safety, and nutritional aspects. This review presents the origin and evolution of the technology, principles of shockwave generation, mechanism of action, and applications in the food industry. The most common food application of USP is currently meat tenderization, where it is used to improve the sensory characteristics of meat as a value-added process. The use of USP as a pretreatment process has also been investigated to increase the yield and nutritional value of extracted juice and oil via softening of plant tissues. This technique also has an impact on food-borne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms in food, however, it is more effective when combined with other hurdles. Major challenges facing the industrial implementation of underwater shockwave technology include the lack of appropriate packaging materials resistant to the disruptive effects of shockwaves, the capital investment required, and a lack of regulatory information pertaining to USP. So far, most studies of underwater shockwaves on food are at the laboratory scale and validation stage. Further research endeavors and collaboration between food scientists, engineers, and regulators are necessary to scale up this technology to industrial implementation.

Texture Modification Technologies and Their Opportunities for the Production of Dysphagia Foods: A Review

Dysphagia or swallowing difficulty is a common morbidity experienced by those who have suffered a stroke or those undergone such treatments as head and neck surgeries. Dysphagic patients require special foods that are easier to swallow. Various technologies, including high-pressure processing, high-hydrodynamic pressure processing, pulsed electric field treatment, plasma processing, ultrasound-assisted processing, and irradiation have been applied to modify food texture to make it more suitable for such patients. This review surveys the applications of these technologies for food texture modification of products made of meat, rice, starch, and carbohydrates, as well as fruits and vegetables. The review also attempts to categorize, via the use of such key characteristics as hardness and viscosity, texture-modified foods into various dysphagia diet levels. Current and future trends of dysphagia food production, including the use of three-dimensional food printing to reduce the design and fabrication time, to enhance the sensory characteristics, as well as to create visually attractive foods, are also mentioned.

Marination and cooking performance of portioned broiler breast fillets with the wooden breast condition

The wooden breast (WB) condition in broiler breast meat negatively influences technological meat quality. However, it is unknown if the WB effects are uniform throughout the Pectoralis major. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of WB on the marination and cooking performance of the dorsal and ventral portions of broiler breast fillets. Sixty butterfly breast fillets were collected from the deboning line of a commercial plant and sorted into normal (no WB) and severe WB categories. Each fillet was horizontally portioned into dorsal and ventral halves. Portions from one side of each butterfly were used as non-marinated controls, while portions from the other side were vacuum-tumble marinated (16 rpm, -0.6 atm, 4°C, 20 min) with 20% (wt/wt) marinade to meat ratio. Marinade was formulated to target a final concentration of 0.75% salt and 0.45% sodium tripolyphosphate in the final product. Samples were cooked to 78°C in a combination oven. Marinade uptake and retention were lower (P < 0.001) in both the ventral and dorsal portions of the WB fillets. The dorsal portions had greater (P < 0.001) marinade uptake and retention than the ventral portions in both normal and WB fillets. For non-marinated samples, cook loss was greater (P < 0.05) in both the ventral and dorsal portions of WB fillets. In marinated samples, however, cook loss was similar between the dorsal portions of normal and WB fillets. Final cooked product yield was calculated based on pre-marination and post-cook weights. Non-marinated WB samples exhibited lower (P < 0.001) cooked product yields than normal samples in both portions. For marinated samples, cooked product yields were greater (P < 0.001) in the dorsal portions. Data demonstrated that the dorsal portion of the Pectoralis major more readily absorbs and retains marinade during vacuum tumbling and storage than the ventral portion. Although the WB condition negatively influenced marination and cooking performance in both fillet portions, the effects were less severe in the dorsal portion.

Applied and Emerging Methods for Meat Tenderization: A Comparative Perspective

The tenderization process, which can be influenced by both pre- and post-slaughter interventions, begins immediately after an animal's death and is followed with the disruption of the muscle structure by endogenous proteolytic systems. The post-slaughter technological interventions like electrical stimulation, suspension methods, blade tenderization, tumbling, use of exogenous enzymes, and traditional aging are some of the methods currently employed by the meat industry for improving tenderness. Over the time, technological advancement resulted in development of several novel methods, for maximizing the tenderness, which are being projected as quick, economical, nonthermal, green, and energy-efficient technologies. Comparison of these advanced technological methods with the current applied industrial methods is necessary to understand the feasibility and benefits of the novel technology. This review discusses the benefits and advantages of different emerging tenderization techniques such as hydrodynamic-pressure processing, high-pressure processing, pulsed electric field, ultrasound, SmartStretch^™ , Pi-Vac Elasto-Pack® system, and some of the current applied methods used in the meat industry.

Freezing-thawing and sub-sampling influence the marination performance of chicken breast meat

Vacuum-tumbling marination is often used to improve the yield and quality of whole or portioned broiler breast fillets. The relationship between the marination performance of whole Pectoralis major muscles and breast fillet sub-samples is not well understood. The objective was to determine the effects of sub-sampling and freezing-thawing on the marination performance and cook loss of broiler breast meat. Paired right and left breast fillets were marinated as whole fillets or sub-samples (cranial and mid-caudal portions). Samples were marinated at 48 h postmortem (fresh) or stored at -20°C and then thawed prior to marination (frozen-thawed). Samples were vacuum-tumbled in 20% wt/wt brine (5% NaCl, 3% STP) and weighed pre-marination, during marination (15, 30, and 45 min), and 24 h post-marination. Samples were then cooked to 75°C for determination of cook loss. Marinade uptake was greater in caudal sub-samples than intact fillets and cranial sub-samples after 15 min of marination (P < 0.0001). After 30 min, marinade uptake was greater in caudal sub-samples and intact fillets than cranial sub-samples (P < 0.05). After 45 min, marinade uptake for fresh samples was greatest in intact fillets and lowest in cranial sub-samples. For frozen-thawed samples, marinade uptake at 45 min was greater in caudal sub-samples and intact fillets than cranial sub-samples (P < 0.0001). Marinade uptake in sub-samples at 30 min was greater in frozen-thawed versus fresh fillets (P < 0.05). Differences in marinade retention were not observed. Cook loss was similar between fresh and frozen-thawed samples but was greater in sub-samples compared to intact fillets (P < 0.0001). Correlations between marinade uptake in intact fillets and cranial sub-samples were greater in fresh (r = 0.64 to 0.78) than frozen-thawed samples (r = 0.39 to 0.59). Correlations between marinade uptake in intact fillets and caudal sub-samples were greater in frozen-thawed (r = 0.79 to 0.82) than fresh samples (r = 0.46 to 0.63). Data suggest that the relationships between marination performance of whole breast fillets and fillet sub-samples are dependent upon prior sample handling and intra-fillet sampling location.

Instrumental texture characteristics of broiler pectoralis major with the wooden breast condition

The objective was to characterize texture properties of raw and cooked broiler fillets (Pectoralis major) with the wooden breast condition (WBC) using the instrumental texture techniques of Meullenet-Owens Razor Shear (MORS) and Texture Profile Analysis (TPA). Deboned (3 h postmortem) broiler fillets were collected from a commercial plant and categorized as normal, moderate, or severe WBC based on the incidence and severity of diffuse hardened areas throughout fillets and the degree of palpable hardness. The fillets were then either stored at 4°C overnight or in a -20°C freezer. The MORS and TPA of the raw samples were determined at 24 h postmortem for fresh samples and after thawing overnight for frozen samples. The same measurements were also taken after the samples were cooked to 78°C. Regardless of freshness (fresh vs. frozen-thawed), cooking (raw vs. cooked), and degree of WBC, both MORS force and energy of the WBC samples were higher than that of the normal samples (P < 0.05). For TPA adhesiveness and resilience, there were no differences between normal and WBC samples (P > 0.05). However, average TPA hardness and chewiness measurements of the fillets with WBC were higher than the normal fillets (P < 0.05). Regardless of texture measurement, there were no interactions between freshness and the wooden condition or no differences between moderate and severe WBC fillets (P > 0.05). These results demonstrate that there are significant differences in instrumental texture properties between normal fillets and those exhibiting the WBC. The WBC fillets required more force to cut through, harder, and chewier than normal breast muscles. These results suggest that cooked WBC meat would likely be tougher than cooked normal meat.

Effect of electrohydraulic shockwave treatment on tenderness, muscle cathepsin and peptidase activities and microstructure of beef loin steaks from Holstein young bulls

Hydrodynamic pressure processing (HDP) or shockwave treatment improved tenderness (18% reduction in Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) of beef loin steaks. Endogenous muscle proteolyic activities (cathepsins and peptidases) and protein fragmentation of sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar proteins detected by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) were not influenced by HDP. However, microstructure changes were clearly detected using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Specifically a disruption of the structure at the muscle fiber bundles and an increased endomysium space were observed. The present paper supports the evidence of physical disruption of the muscle fibers as a cause behind the tenderness improvement. The paper discusses the possible mechanisms responsible for the meat tenderisation induced by HDP treatment.

SavorPhos as an all-natural phosphate replacer in water- and oil-based marinades for rotisserie birds and boneless-skinless breast

As consumer demand for all-natural marinades increases, the need to replace phosphate with a natural product that can produce equivalent or improved yield in products such as but not limited to rotisserie chickens (whole birds without giblets) and boneless/skinless breast (BSB) is a challenge for processors. The objective of this study was to determine if using an all-natural nonphosphate blend (SavorPhos-200, SP) in water-based (WB) and oil-based (OB) marinades would perform better than a commercial phosphate blend (PB). The treatments included WB+PB (water, 0.4% phosphate, 0.7% salt), WB+SP (water, 0.5% SavorPhos-200, 0.7% salt), OB+PB (water, 3% oil, 0.4% phosphate, 0.7% salt), and OB+SP (water, 3% oil, 0.5% SavorPhos-200, 0.7% salt). The rotisserie chickens and BSB were injected with a multineedle injector to 20% (wt/wt) pickup at a constant pressure (103-138 kPa). The parameters measured were marinade pickup %, 20-min and 24-h marinade retention %, and cook loss %. Color, tenderness, total moisture, and sensory test were conducted on BSB. Data were analyzed within marinade type (WB and OB). Rotisserie birds picked up and retained the same yield in WB marinades. In OB marinades, SP had higher yields postinjection and lower cook loss % than the PB, while retaining the same yield over 24 h. For BSB, the cook loss was lower in SP than the PB in WB marinades. Higher yields postinjection were achieved with OB, but had the same retention 20 min and 24 h postinjection and cook loss % as the PB. No differences were observed for total moisture or L* (lightness) within marinade type and treatment. Texture was lower, indicating increased tenderness (P < 0.05) on SP samples in both marinades. However, consumers were not able to distinguish between treatments in sensory analyses. Therefore, SavorPhos-200 can be used as a natural nonphosphate blend in WB marinades with no detriment to yield. In addition, SavorPhos-200 can be used as a natural nonphosphate blend in OB marinades with yield improvements.

New developments in shockwave technology intended for meat tenderization: Opportunities and challenges. A review

Meat tenderness is an important quality parameter determining consumer acceptance and price. Meat tenderness is difficult to ensure in the global meat chain because the production systems are not always aiming at this purpose (ex.: cattle derived from milk production) and by the existence within the carcass of "tough" primals. Different methods can be used by the meat industry to improve meat tenderness each with its advantages and drawbacks. The application of hydrodynamic pressure or shockwaves has showed outstanding improvements by reducing the Warner Bratzler Shear Force by 25% or more. However, the technology has not penetrated into the market as first systems were based on the use of explosives and further developments seemed to lack the robustness to fulfill industrial requirements. The present paper describes the main challenges to construct a prototype for the continuous treatment of meat by shockwaves based on electrical discharges under water. Finally, improvements on the tenderness of meat by using the novel prototype are presented.