title: Functional properties of pre-rigor, pre-salted ground beef chilled with solid carbon dioxide.
abstract: Ground, pre-salted, pre-rigor semimembranosus muscles of beef were subjected to three treatments A=rapid carbon dioxide (CO(2)) chilling, B=slow CO(2) chilling and C=air chilling, and compared to a control D=slow air chilling of muscles, which were subsequently ground and salted post-rigor. Meat of the pre-rigor treatments A, B and C had higher pH values during processing, lower cooking loss, firmer texture and a lighter yellowish external colour of cooked patties than the post-rigor control D (p<0.05). The two CO(2) chilling regimes A and B had no detrimental effects on the functional properties of the pre-rigor meat. Sarcomere lengths did not differ in meat of the four treatments (p>0.05), indicating that early pre-salting protected the meat from cold shortening during rapid temperature decline. A process combination of grinding, followed by immediate pre-salting and CO(2) chilling within 312h post-mortem of non-stimulated beef muscles is likely to yield superior binding properties of cooked patties and similar ground beef products.
authors: Matforsk AS - Norwegian Food Research Institute, Osloveien 1, N-1430 Ås, Norway.
authors: Oddvin
authors: O
authors: Sørheim
authors: Solveig
authors: S
authors: Uglem
authors: Per
authors: P
authors: Lea
authors: James R
authors: JR
authors: Claus
authors: Bjørg
authors: B
authors: Egelandsdal