Minerals Concentration and Textural Properties of Romanian Beef Row and Cooked Meat and Offal

Abstract

Introduction: Consumers preferences for solid food are, for the majority of foods groups, influenced by their textural properties. Romanian traditional cuisine is rich in meat foods and therefore this food group has an important contribution to the total mineral intake as well as the ingestion of potentially toxic metals such as Cd and Pb. Although beef liver is an important source of minerals for human consumption, its concentrations in Cd and Pb and heterogeneous textural properties may hinder its acceptability. Aims: The purpose of the work was to estimate raw and cooked beef meat and offal mineral quality including Cd and Pb concentrations and their contribution to a balanced human diet and health as well as the influenced of thermal preparation on their mineral and textural properties. Materials and methods: Beef liver, kidney and longissimus dorsi muscle were bought from local markets. Thermal preparation was conducted by microwave and boiling with no water contact. Texture profile analyses was conducted for quantifying textural properties such as Hardness, Cohesiveness, Springiness, Springiness Index, Chewiness, Adhesiveness and Stiffness. The mineral concentrations of the raw and cooked samples were analyzed by ICP-MS. Conclusion: The offal textural parameters variability was very large within the same organ and compared to the muscle textural parameters variability too. Muscle and offal thermal preparation strongly influenced their minerals’ concentrations as well as their textural properties. Thermal preparation significantly decreased beef liver and kidney samples’ total K and Na concentrations. It is suggested that for improving beef liver acceptability, the consumer has to be advised on the influence of the thermal preparation on beef liver parts’ textural properties as well as minerals concentrations.