Pulsed electric field operates enzymatically by causing early activation of calpains in beef during ageing

A study was conducted to elucidate the impact of pulsed electric field (PEF) on the activity of calpains, proteolytic activity of desmin and troponin-T and physicochemical properties of beef Biceps femoris during ageing. The meat samples (meat blocks) were subjected to two PEF treatments; T1 (5 kV, 90 Hz, 0.38 kV/cm) and T2 (10 kV, 20 Hz, 0.61 kV/cm) and a non-treated control was run in parallel. The samples were vacuum packaged and aged for 1, 7 and 14 days at 4 ± 1 °C. This study reports for the first time the impact of PEF-processing on the calpain activity in beef. Early post-mortem activation of calpain 2 was observed in PEF-treated samples. An increase in the calpain activity and proteolysis of desmin and troponin-T was observed. No significant effect of PEF was observed on the shear force of tough muscles from culled dairy animals during the entire ageing period.