title: Influence of extrinsic operational parameters on salt diffusion during ultrasound assisted meat curing.
abstract: The present study investigated the effect of geometric parameters of the ultrasound instrument during meat salting in order to enhance salt diffusion and salt distribution in pork meat on a lab scale. The effects of probe size (∅2.5 and 1.3cm) and of different distances between the transducer and the meat sample (0.3, 0.5, and 0.8cm) on NaCl diffusion were investigated. Changes in the moisture content and NaCl gain were used to evaluate salt distribution and diffusion in the samples, parallel and perpendicular to ultrasound propagation direction. Results showed that 0.3cm was the most efficient distance between the probe and the sample to ensure a higher salt diffusion rate. A distance of 0.5cm was however considered as a trade-off distance to ensure salt diffusion and maintenance of meat quality parameters. The enhancement of salt diffusion by ultrasound was observed to decrease with increased horizontal distance from the probe. This study is of valuable importance for meat processing industries willing to apply new technologies on a larger scale and with defined operational standards. The data suggest that the geometric parameters of ultrasound systems can have strong influence on the efficiency of ultrasonic enhancement of NaCl uptake in meat and can be a crucial element in determining salt uptake during meat processing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Chemistry & Technology, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland; Food Packaging Group, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Elena S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Inguglia
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Chemistry & Technology, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland.
authors.forename: Zhihang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Safety, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.affiliation: Food Packaging Group, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Kerry
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Chemistry & Technology, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland. Electronic address: Brijesh.Tiwari@teagasc.ie.
authors.forename: Brijesh K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Tiwari
mesh_terms: D003890:Desiccation / Q000379:methods; D004058:Diffusion / Q000528:radiation effects; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005504:Food Analysis; D005519:Food Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D019220:High-Energy Shock Waves; D008460:Meat / Q000528:radiation effects*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D014867:Water; D012965:Sodium Chloride