Effects of Sodium Nitrite and Tocopherol Incorporated Poly(Lactic Acid) Biodegradable Films on Dark-Cutting Beef Color

Autor: Anibal Bher, Gretchen Mafi, Mansour Alnajrani, Morgan L. Denzer, Morgan Pfeiffer, Rafael Auras, Ranjith Ramanathan, Timothy Bowser, Trinity J Smith, Wesley Osburn
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2024
Předmět:
Zdroj: Meat and Muscle Biology, Vol 8, Iss 1 (2024)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2575-985X
DOI: 10.22175/mmb.17006
Popis: This study aimed to develop poly(lactic acid) (PLA) biodegradable film containing sodium nitrite and α-tocopherol, and to examine its effect on dark-cutting beef color attributes. Using a twin-screw extruder, PLA pellets were manufactured as a low-concentration (LC) PLA pellet containing 0.12% sodium nitrite and 0.5% α-tocopherol or a high-concentration (HC) PLA pellet containing 0.6% sodium nitrite and 2.5% α-tocopherol. Extruded PLA pellets were oven-dried before being compressed and molded into film sheets using a hot press. In this study, 7 normal-pH and 7 dark-cutting strip loins were selected from a commercial processor. Loins were sliced into 2.54-cm thick steaks and randomly assigned to the respective loin-type treatments. The packaging treatments include normal-pH polyvinyl chloride (PVC), dark-cutting PVC, dark-cutting vacuum, LC-PLA dark-cutting in vacuum, and HC-PLA dark-cutting in vacuum. Normal-pH steaks were packaged with PVC overwrap, while dark-cutting control steaks were packaged in PVC overwrap and vacuum-sealed. The respective PLA films (LC or HC) were placed directly on the surface of the dark-cutting steak surface before vacuum packaging, resulting in LC-PLA and HC-PLA treatments. All steaks were placed in a simulated retail dis-play maintained at 2±1°C for 6 d, during which their surface color was evaluated every 24 h using a HunterLab spectrophotometer and a trained panel (n=6). Half of the steaks were removed from display on d 5 and cooked to 71°C on a George Foreman grill to evaluate the cooked color. The remaining steaks were evaluated on d 6 for microbial growth and lipid oxidation. A significant increase (P0.05) compared to dark-cutting steaks in control vacuum packages (without nitrite). There were no differences (P>0.05) in aerobic plate count and lipid oxidation between nitrite-embedded and control vacuum dark-cutting treatments. Results indicate that using lower concentrations of sodium nitrite (0.12%) andα-tocopherol (0.5%) in PLA films can help improve the surface color of raw dark-cutting steaks while minimizing unpleasant cooked color associated with nitrite-embedded film.
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