Effects of glucono delta-lactone enhancement and nitrite-embedded packaging on fresh color, cooked color, and sensory attributes of dark-cutting beef

Impact of nitrite-embedded packaging film on quality and sensory attributes of alternatively-cured and nitrite-free bologna

“…Novel packaging advancements where the packaging materials actively interact with the product have been investigated (McMillin, 2017). One such packaging material is nitrite-embedded film (NEF), which involves the addition of nitrite crystals to the packaging film and, when used in vacuum packaging of fresh meat, has been shown to improve color stability and overall color of beef muscles longissimus lumborum, psoas major, and semitendinosus (Claus & Du, 2013), bison muscles longissimus lumborum and ground rhomboideus (Roberts et al, 2017), dark-cutting beef (Denzer, 2020;Ramanathan et al, 2018), fresh pork sausage (Yang et al, 2016), and bison steaks (Narváez-Bravo et al, 2017). In the case of vacuum-packaged fresh meat, the nitrite embedded in the packaging film reacts with myoglobin to form nitric oxide myoglobin, a bright red pigment that closely resembles oxymyoglobin such as that observed in vacuum-packaged, uncooked corned beef.…”