Intense light pulses upset the sensory quality of meat products

Abstract

Intense light pulses (ILP) is a promising non-thermal preservation technology. Few data are reported about the impact of the treatment on sensory quality of meat and meat products. Evaluation of the impact of ILP on sensory quality of meat products was performed using five different types of meat products: cooked ham, Parisian sausage, Parma ham, fermented sausage and bacon. All the samples were treated with 1 and 5 light pulses (pulse duration of 300 μs and pulse intensity of 3.4 J/cm2) at a rate of one pulse per 2 seconds. Changes in the sensory quality induced by intense light pulses were different and depended on type of meat product and ILP dose applied. The results for cooked meat products are not promising because ILP significantly deteriorated their sensory quality. Dry-cured meat product, Parma ham and bacon, showed greater sensory resistance to the impact of ILP than examined cooked meat products. Fermented sausage was least affected by ILP of all the meat products investigated. Pulsed light lightened cooked ham after the higher treatment was applied while the lightness of Parisian sausage remained unaffected by the treatment. The a* value significantly decreased only after the 5-pulses treatment in Parma ham, fermented sausage and bacon while the b* value changed significantly (increased) only in bacon.