Innovative processes for to improve meat quality: an international concern

Context

Currently, 30 % of the beef consumed in Europe comes from cull cows. On other continents, hardy breeds are favoured for their resistance to diseases and hostile environments (climate, parasites, resources). Although these meats have a high nutritional potential, they are quite tough. We have forged partnerships to apply to these fresh meats innovative technological processes (hydrodynamic shock waves, pulsed electric fields, proteolytic action) that are likely to reduce their mechanical strength while preserving their nutritional potential. “Sous vide cooking”, known to improve texture, was favoured and structural changes were characterised to understand the mechanisms associated with meat tenderisation.

Results

The application of hydrodynamic shock waves prior to cooking promotes the solubilisation of intramuscular collagen, whereas pulsed electric fields do not significantly modify the structure but favour the in-vitro digestibility of vacuum-cooked meat. The use of ginger extract, rich in protease, significantly tenderises the meat. The meat is more tender and there is less juice lost when vacuum cooked at 60 °C (rather than 70 °C or 80 °C). It appears that slow-twitch muscle fibres retract on cooking, causing adjacent, probably fast-twitch, fibres to ripple. The palatable texture of vacuum-cooked meats is thought to be the result of a strong solubilisation of collagen and the gelling of myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic proteins.

Future outlook

The goal is to make better use of meat from culled or hardy animals and to offer consumers pre-cooked meat with good sensory, sanitary and nutritional quality. We want to better understand the variability of muscle fibre behaviour when heated and the role of processes in meat tenderisation.

Partnerships

• King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology (Thailand)
• Riddet Institute (New Zealand)
• The German Institute for Food Technology (DIL, Germany)
• University of Melbourne and Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga (Australia).