Potassium carbonate improves fresh pork quality characteristics
Introduction
Fresh pork quality attributes including color and tenderness are critical for consumer appeal. Improving these attributes is often achieved using enhancement strategies. Enhancement most often occurs when meat is injected with a solution containing water, salts, and/or tenderizers (Lamkey, 1998). These added components are designed to improve color, increase water retention, increase juiciness, improve tenderness, and extend shelf-life (Jones, Carr, & McKeith, 1987; Keeton, 1983; Molins, 1991; Sutton, Brewer, & McKeith, 1997). A variety of phosphate enhancements are available for meat processors including sodium and potassium salts of orthophosphate, pyrophosphate, and tripolyphosphate (Lamkey, 1998). These phosphates can maintain color stability, positively impact pork color by leading to darker, redder, less yellow products, and function as an antioxidant to extend shelf life (Aberle, Forrest, Gerrard, & Mills, 2001; Krause, Ockerman, Krol, Moerman, & Plimpton, 1978). Further, some phosphate compounds can improve pork quality by increasing pH resulting in an increased water holding capacity (Molins, 1991; Offer & Trinick, 1983). As pH is increased, the net charge on the myofibrillar proteins is altered. Specifically, the negative charges on the protein increase while the positive charges decrease. These charges then cause repulsive forces which increase available space and swelling (Mrak & Schweigert, 1984). This swelling increases water holding capacity, decreases cook loss, and therefore increases perceived tenderness due to the increased water (Offer & Trinick, 1983). Recently the mechanism responsible for the increased water holding capacity was further elucidated, as phosphate extracts myofibrillar proteins and dissociates the actomyosin bond (Shen et al., 2016). Because phosphate can cause meat to retain water, its use is regulated in meat at no >0.5% of the final weight of the product in the United States (United States Department of Agriculture - FSIS, 2017). Though, the use of phosphates in meat preparations (i.e. burger, sausages) is generally not allowed by EU legislation (Long, Gál, & Buňka, 2011; Petracci, Bianchi, Mudalal, & Cavani, 2013).
Unfortunately, phosphate enhancement is becoming increasingly unacceptable to consumers who are mandating the food industry reduce and/or eliminate the use of phosphates in meat due to potential health concerns like chronic kidney disease, hypertension, or as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (Ketteler, Wolf, Hahn, & Ritz, 2013; Mizuno, Mitchell, Crawford, Huang, Maalouf, Hu, Moe, Smith, & Vongpatanasin, 2016; Ritz, Hahn, Ketteler, Kuhlmann, & Mann, 2012). In response, the meat industry has requested the identification and testing of viable phosphate alternatives to maintain or improve meat quality attributes. Proposed phosphate alternatives have primarily focused on replacing the single attribute of improved water-holding capacity derived from phosphate. Suggested options included citrate salts, acetate salts, starches, flours, fibers, hydrocolloids, and exogenous proteins (Petracci et al., 2013). Most of these compounds are able to bind water, but cannot replicate other quality attributes like improved color (colorimeter) and texture (Warner-Bratzler shear force) that also occur with phosphate (Jarvis et al., 2012; Ponrajan et al., 2012; Vasavada & Cornforth, 2006). Phosphates are multifunctional chemicals in meat products and provide improved color, water holding capacity, texture, and function as an antioxidant by reducing oxidation of lipids through calcium sequestration (Jones et al., 1987). Therefore, identifying a phosphate alternative that replicates the functional attributes of phosphate is desirable to the pork industry.
As many processors are beginning to evaluate other ingredients to replace phosphate, one compound that may function as phosphate replacements in meat is potassium carbonate (K2CO3; pKa = 10.25) because it is capable of creating an alkaline solution similar to some phosphate compounds. However, the only scientific literature merely suggests the possibility that K2CO3 could be used in meat products (Alvarado & McKee, 2007; Chantarasuwan, Benjakul, & Visessanguan, 2011; Prabhul & Husak, 2014). Because K2CO3 was recently approved for use in eggs, meat, and some fish products (United States Department of Agriculture - FSIS, 2017), more published information is needed to provide guidance to US meat processors. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of K2CO3 on fresh pork quality including pH, color and color stability (colorimeter: L*, a*, and b*), tenderness (Warner-Bratzler shear force), cook loss, and its ability to extract myofibrillar proteins in comparison to sodium tripolyphosphate (STP). A follow-up study was also conducted to evaluate consumer perception of K2CO3 use in fresh pork loin chops.
Section snippets
Pork loin enhancement
Fresh, unenhanced center cut pork loins (IMPS # 414; n = 40 total) were acquired from a USDA processing facility one day post-harvest, shipped in a refrigerated packaging unit to maintain a uniform distribution environment, and randomly assigned to one of the five treatments (Table 1). Prior to treatment, pork loins were analyzed for color and pH to ensure homogeneity of initial color and pH of pork loins. Briefly, loins were enhanced using an automated injector (Fomaco Reiser, Canton, MA) to
pH and color
To ensure the pork loins used in the study were uniform, samples were extracted from the pork loin prior to the addition of treatments. No difference was found among the unenhanced pork loins used for each treatment for pH (P = .77), L* (P = .22), a* (P = .68), or b* (P = .59) prior to treatment (Table 1B). Following enhancement, there was a difference (P ≤ .0001) in pH among treatments. When analyzing across all 6 time points, pH of the 0.3% and 0.5% K2CO3 treatments was increased (P ≤ .0004)
Conclusion
K2CO3 maintained or improved whole fresh pork loin chop quality attributes compared to STP. Pork color was improved resulting in a redder and less yellow final product. Potassium carbonate also decreased cook loss and improved both instrumental and consumer sensory tenderness. These meat quality improvements are likely due to a combination of increased meat pH and solubilization of myosin heavy chain. Therefore, K2CO3 may be utilized as a replacement of STP and possibly other phosphate
Acknowledgements
Without the equipment and aid of The Ohio State University Meat Science Research lab, this study would not have been possible.
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2022, Ultrasonics SonochemistryCitation Excerpt :Compare with the sample of T1, the L* value of cooked pork batter significantly increased (P < 0.05) when the addition of sodium bicarbonate, but it did not significantly different (P > 0.05) with the increase in ultrasound time; the a* value significantly decreased (P < 0.05) with the increase in ultrasound time and the addition of sodium bicarbonate, on the contrary, the b* value significantly increased (P < 0.05) with the increase in ultrasound time and the addition of sodium bicarbonate. It is well known that shifted pH can lower the oxidation rate of myoglobin to metmyoglobin [25], thus, the a* value of cooked pork batter was decreased, and the b* value was increased after ultrasound-assisted sodium bicarbonate treatment. Previous studies have reported that increasing sodium bicarbonate while decreasing sodium chloride did not affect the L* values of cooked normal pork batters, the a* values were decreased, and the b* values were increased [19,33].