Novel ingredients and emerging processing technologies in the development of clean label, phosphate-reduced meat products

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Date
2022-08
Authors
Palanisamy Thangavelu, Karthikeyan
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University College Cork
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Abstract
Phosphate additives are used in numerous processed foods as stabilisers and emulsifiers. They are present in up to 65% of processed meat products. However, consumer preferences for more natural and less processed foods have resulted in clean-label growth trends, meaning shorter ingredient declarations avoiding ingredients unfamiliar to the consumer. Due to the unique characteristics of phosphates, their removal, while maintaining product quality, is challenging. As an initial study (Chapter 2), a survey assessing the Irish consumer’s (n=548) intention to purchase phosphate-reduced processed meat products employing the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was conducted. Results showed that Irish consumers positively intended to purchase phosphate-reduced processed meat products if widely available. Based on survey findings, this thesis research explored the possibilities of developing high-quality, phosphate-replaced/reduced processed meat products employing natural ingredients and additionally employing novel processing technologies. This objective was achieved by carrying out two important processes: modification of potential phosphate-replacers and meat structure modification using novel processing technologies and accomplished by carrying out four experimental studies. The first experimental study (Chapter 3) examined the phosphate-replacing ability of two dietary fibre-rich food co-product ingredients, namely; apple pomace (AP) and coffee silverskin (CSS), in Irish breakfast sausage formulations. A specialised response surface methodology developed using Mixture design software created 18 sausage formulations containing different sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), AP and CSS concentrations. Results showed that the addition of ingredients improved WHC (P<0.001) and decreased the cook loss (P<0.001), hardness (P<0.001), chewiness (P<0.001) and day 9 TBARS (P<0.018) values. Software analysis of results predicted three optimised phosphate-reduced sausage formulations based on the desirability response method. Following chapter 3, efforts were made to enhance the functional properties of AP and CSS using Power Ultrasound (US) technology Chapter 4). This investigated the effect of US treatment of 20 kHz, 250 W at different time intervals of 15 and 30 minutes on the techno-functional properties of AP and CSS, such as water and oil absorption capacity (WAC and OAC), particle size, viscosity, colour and total fibre content. Results indicated that US treatment on ingredients for 15 and 30 minutes improved WAC and OAC of both ingredients (Significant only for AP). Observation showed that functionality improved with increased treatment duration. This demonstrated that US treatment can create beneficially-functional properties in food co-products or ingredients, such as with AP and CSS powders. Combining Chapters 3 and 4, a comparative study (Chapter 5) was conducted employing US-treated (30 minutes) ingredients in the three optimised phosphate-reduced sausage formulations obtained from the mixture design software. Results showed that the addition of US-treated AP and CSS to all the formulations increased WHC (P<0.05), emulsion stability (TEF %) (P<0.05), and decreased cook loss (P<0.05), demonstrating that the addition of US-treated AP and CSS can improve phosphate-reduced sausage quality. Finally, in Chapter 6, a strategy of using High-Pressure Processing (HPP) technology to alter meat functionality was employed for further sausage quality improvement. Study results showed that HPP (150 MPa for 5 mins) produced positive changes in the water holding capacity (WHC) (P<0.05) and cook loss (P<0.05) of sausage formulations when compared to non-HPP treated equivalents. In conclusion, there is potential to manufacture sausages with reduced phosphate concentration using novel processing technologies and clean label ingredients, such as those used in this study. Overall, the research presented showed the wide application scope that exists for non-thermal novel processing technology. With further optimisation, these ingredients and the processing technologies employed could be used to produce a wide range of healthier and higher-quality processed meat products.
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Keywords
Phosphate-reduced , Processed meat , Coffee silver skin , Power Ultrasound , Clean label , High pressure processing , Apple pomace
Citation
Palanisamy Thangavelu, K. 2022. Novel ingredients and emerging processing technologies in the development of clean label, phosphate-reduced meat products. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.