Monitoring Thermal Treatments Applied to Meat Using Traditional Methods and Spectroscopic Techniques: a Review of Advances over the Last Decade

Abstract

Thermal treatments are often applied during processing or preparation of muscle foods aiming to both improve the palatability and organoleptic properties and to ensure the safety of the treated food. However, the application of inappropriate or severe thermal treatments can lead to undesirable changes in the sensory and nutritional quality of heat-processed products, and especially so for foods that are sensitive to thermal treatments, such as meat and meat products. The impact of traditional and new heat processing technologies (e.g. microwaving, ohmic, and radio frequency heating) on meat quality has been widely assessed by a wide range of conventional methods, such as sensory, microbiological, and physicochemical methods. Due to the destructive nature and the time required to perform these assessments, alternative online methods are highly needed in order to achieve continuous monitoring through online applications. In this review paper, both traditional and new heat processing methods and their impact on the quality of meat will be first briefly presented. The methods and techniques that have been applied to monitor changes induced by application of thermal treatments will be then discussed. The main focus will be put on the application of spectroscopic techniques, as rapid and non-destructive methods compared to most conventional techniques. Finally, future trends and possible applications and research directions will be suggested.

Effects of increasing internal end‐point temperatures on physicochemical and sensory properties of meat: A review

“…The sensory properties (i.e., appearance, aroma, flavor, taste, and texture attributes) of meat have long been recognized as an important factor for consumer acceptability (Boleman et al., 1997; Miller, 2017). Various traditional and novel cooking treatments, as well as their effects on meat physicochemical and sensory properties, have been investigated (Hassoun, Aït‐Kaddour, et al., 2020; Roldan et al., 2014; Troy et al., 2016). In addition, numerous studies have investigated how the physicochemical and sensory properties of meat are influenced by increasing end‐point cooking temperatures (i.e., increasing degrees of doneness) (Drey et al., 2019; George‐Evins et al., 2004; Schmidt et al., 2010).…”

Seafood Processing, Preservation, and Analytical Techniques in the Age of Industry 4.0

“…Ohmic heating, dielectric heating (i.e., radio frequency and microwave heating), and infrared heating are promising alternatives to conventional methods of heat processing. These novel thermal technologies are viewed as volumetric heating (internal heating) whereas conventional heating methods are based on convection and conduction (external heating) [66,67].…”

“…Another study investigated the impact of microwave heating on the gel characteristics of surimi, and the results indicated that thickness of the surimi was the most important factor that influences the temperature distribution during microwave heating [78]. However, the cost of the equipment hinders its wider deployment at large-scale facilities [66,79].…”

Thermal processing implications on the digestibility of meat, fish and seafood proteins

“…While the myofibrillar proteins from beef and lamb exhibited denaturation peaks of 55–60°C (Kemp, North, & Leath, 2009), the myosin and α‐actinin begin to denature from 40–50°C (Wright & Wilding, 1984; Cheng & Parrish, 1979), titin from 60°C (Pospiech et al., 2002) and actin from 70°C (Wright et al., 1977). SDS‐PAGE analysis showed denaturation of myosin and actin in the range of 60–80°C (Hassoun, Aït‐Kaddour, Sahar, & Cozzolino, 2021). No distinctive denaturation peaks were exhibited by the sarcoplasmic proteins of beef, lamb, or pork (Kemp et al., 2009), however, the maximum heat capacity values suggested that denaturation occurred between 50 and 70°C.…”