Abstract
The application of dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (DBD-CP)-treated water as a novel curing process for manufacturing Chinese dried pork loin was investigated. The treatment time of DBD-CP was optimized based on the pH and nitrite level of the plasma-treated water (PTW). PTW treated for 3 min had an alkaline environment and a higher nitrite content than that at the other lengths of treatment time. Pork loins were marinated in control or PTW brine at 4 °C for 24 h and then dry-ripened for 15 days. PTW with a higher treatment voltage significantly decreased lipid oxidation of the products and led to an increased a* value (redness) and an increased residual nitrite content in products that was still within the range of use (all P < 0.05). The contents of each free amino acid increased with increasing treatment intensity (P < 0.05). There were 22 new volatile compounds generated in PTW-cured products, such as 3-methyl-butanol, hexanal and 2,3-octanedione, while six substances were lost, such as 2-pentylfuran, compared with those in the control. This study indicates that using PTW as a curing method can be a potential and effective way of producing dried pork meat products.
Highlights
Dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (DBD-CP) is an emerging technology that has been widely applied for the functionalization and modification of proteins[1,2], the elimination of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms[3,4] and the curing process[5,6] of meat products
The results showed that compared with the traditional method, dried pork loins made by treatment with plasma-treated water (PTW) had no undesirable properties according to the analysis of physicochemical properties and volatile compounds
We concluded that PTW brine could be a potentially safe curing process for meat products
Summary
Dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma (DBD-CP) is an emerging technology that has been widely applied for the functionalization and modification of proteins[1,2], the elimination of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms[3,4] and the curing process[5,6] of meat products. Lee et al.[5] reported that direct DBD-CP treatment can be used as a curing process to produce canned ground ham without undesirable sensory properties due to the generation of nitrite in the meat batter after DBD-CP treatment. There are already plenty of meats and meat products processed by DBD-CP, such as canned ground ham[5], emulsion-type sausage[6], meat batter[8], pork jerky[9] and loin ham[10]. Studies on the volatile and nonvolatile compounds of meat products cured with DBD-CP are very limited, and these compounds can have a great impact on the acceptability of these products by consumers
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