Application of egg white and plasma powders as muscle food binding agents

Abstract

A Warner–Bratzler shear device was modified to hold samples and measure binding strength between two muscle chunks. Desugared egg white powder, non-desugared egg white powder, raw egg white, egg powder, bovine, porcine, lamb, and broiler plasma powders, broiler breast meat powder (55°C dried), broiler breast meat powder (freeze dried), gelatine, wheat gluten, isolated soy protein, and sodium alginate + calcium carbonate (6:1) were used for tensile strength evaluations. Results indicated that the desugared egg white and egg white powders were superior ( P < 0.05) to all other binders. Plasma powders proved less effective than egg white powders for binding but better than the other tested compounds at a 20 mg/cm 2 level. Binding abilities of desugared egg white powder and plasma powder between muscle to muscle, muscle to fat, and fat to fat were also evaluated. At 20 mg/cm 2, desugared egg white powder had the strongest tensile strength ( P < 0.05), and the broiler plasma powder was the weakest one in both the meat to meat and meat to fat bindings. The tensile strength between muscle to muscle was stronger ( P < 0.05) than muscle to fat or fat to fat, which was bound by desugared egg white powder. The lightest, least red and yellow ( P < 0.05) colors were more prevalent in desugared egg white powder than plasma powders in meat binding.