No abstract

Research on the effects of high‐intensity ultrasound (HIU) on meat quality properties shows contradictory results. The latter has been sometimes attributed to limited exposure time, not enough to cause cellular modifications. This study evaluated the effect of different exposure times (0, 10, 20, and 40 min) of HIU (37 kHz, 90 W cm−2) on physicochemical properties including; pH, color, tenderness, and microbial counts of two different portions of beef Longissimus lumborum (cranial–caudal). No significant effect of loin portion was observed (p > .05). Ultrasonication time caused a 20.7% toughness reduction of beef (p < .05). However, ultrasonication time also increased hue from 0.62 to 0.76 from red to orange values (p < .05), but it did not affect important coordinates such as a* or C*. Ultrasound caused an increase in the pH from 5.46 to 5.6 (p < .05), but pH was not affected by the time. The highest tenderness was achieved at 40 min of sonication. Significant reductions of mesophiles, psychrophiles, and coliforms were observed after ultrasonication when compared to control (p < .05). The best ultrasonic condition for microbial reduction was at 10 min, when the lowest microorganism counts were achieved, with a subsequent growth when increasing ultrasonication time. Practical Applications High‐intensity ultrasound application appears to be a promising method to increase tenderness in beef. However, optimum time, intensity, and methodology for its application have to be defined, because the variations may affect other quality characteristics such as color or microbial contamination. To find ideal parameter values may help the industry to take decisions on the design of specialized equipment for ultrasonication of meat.

In this study, the effects of ultrasound- (US-) assisted beef marination on consumer perception and the homogeneity of the solute and mass transfer were evaluated. Marinated and US-treated meat samples (40 kHz, 11 W/cm2 for 20, 40, and 60 min, and storing at 4°C for 7 d) were evaluated by a group of consumers using a structured 9-point hedonic scale of satisfaction. The preferences were analyzed with XLSTAT-Sensory® software. The analysis was performed in conjunction with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic study to evaluate the sodium transference. The perception analysis indicated that the use of US-assisted marination did not increase the beef acceptability. The sonicated samples showed a more homogeneous distribution of sodium. However, traditional marination (TM) stored for 7 d resulted in greater mass transfer than the US-assisted marination without storage.

Beef steaks (L. lumborum and Semitendinosus) were randomly assigned to one of three treatments: 1) No‐ultrasonicated; 2) 16 W/cm2 or 3) 28 W/cm2 ultrasonicated in vacuum bags (VAC). Later, steaks were also randomly packed in either VAC or modified atmosphere (MAP, 25–75%, CO2‐O2). After simulated retail display (SRD, 3°C, 12 h light) for 6 d, High‐intensity Ultrasound (HIU) increased redness and saturation on VAC meat (p < 0.05) and produced an increase on L. lumborum (p < 0.05) but not on Semitendinosus (p > 0.05) shear force. High concentrations of O2 in MAP increased loss of redness (2.83 vs. 2.13 MAP vs. VAC, respectively) and saturation (2.64 vs. 1.99, respectively) during SRD. MAP also increased L. lumborum shear force (4.4 vs. 3.2 kgf, respectively p < 0.001) and lipid oxidation (p < 0.001). HIU may be consider as a strategy to improve beef color on VAC. Moreover, high O2 concentrations on MAP should be used with caution for beef, because of a possible negative impact on oxidative stability and tenderness.Practical applicationsHigh intensity ultrasound on bovine Longissimus lumborum and Semitendinosus appears to be a promising method among the recent techniques for improving color of vacuum packed beef without a negative effect on pH and water holding capacity when applied to fresh meat. Hence, ultrasonication may be considered as a strategy to positively influence the acceptance of vacuum packed beef by final consumers.