Combined effects of high pressure and sodium hydrogen carbonate treatment on beef: improvement of texture and color.

We investigated the effect of combined high pressure and sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3) treatment on the physical properties and color of silverside Australian beef. Meat samples were pressurized at 100–500 MPa and the water content, weight reduction, rupture stress, and meat color were determined. The water content of meat treated with NaHCO3and high pressure (300 MPa) reached a maximum of 70.1%. Weight reduction tended to decrease with high pressure treatment at 300 MPa. Meats treated with NaHCO3and high pressure at 400 MPa showed a>50% decrease in hardness. Whitening of the meat was reduced by the combined high pressure and NaHCO3treatment. Therefore, the combined high pressure and NaHCO3treatment is effective for improvement of beef quality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]