Processes to improve storage shelf-life and palatability of beef
Date
2023
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Abstract
Three studies were conducted to evaluate processes to improve the storage shelf-life and palatability of beef. The first two studies evaluated the effects on retail shelf-life and palatability characteristics of beef following Suspended Fresh® storage. Suspended Fresh® (SF) is a patented, proprietary, trademarked process that allows the storage of beef muscles at temperatures at or slightly above their freezing point to slow down microbiological spoilage while maintaining the product's fresh status. These studies evaluated the impact of 60, 75, or 90 d of storage in SF (-2.7±0.3°C) on the retail shelf-life and palatability characteristics of steaks derived from inside rounds (IR), bone-in ribeyes (RE), and striploins (SL) from 10 (n=10) upper two-thirds Choice beef carcasses. Two steaks fabricated from each subprimal were vacuum-packaged, wet-aged for 21 d (3°C), and frozen (-20°C) for Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBSF) and sensory analyses. These steaks served as the control with regard to storage condition and time. The remainder of each subprimal was fabricated into three portions, and after vacuum packaging, were randomly allocated to an SF storage time of 60, 75, or 90 d. After each storage time, five steaks were fabricated from the subprimal pieces, overwrapped, and placed in a retail display case (3°C) under continuous fluorescent light for 7 d. Another two steaks were vacuum-packaged and stored at -20°C until WBSF and consumer sensory evaluations. Consumers (N=238) evaluated each sample for juiciness, tenderness, flavor liking, and overall liking. Instrumental and trained visual color were evaluated daily during retail display, and aerobic bacterial populations (APC), lactic acid bacteria, and Pseudomonas spp. were enumerated on days 0, 2, 4, and 7. Data were analyzed in R using a factorial design for the microbial counts or a split-plot for the rest of the analyses. Least-squares means were separated using a significance level of α=0.05. For all cuts, initial redness (a* values) of SF60 steaks were lower (P < 0.05) than SF75 and SF90 steaks. In general, irrespective of SF storage time or retail display day, trained panelists did not detect differences in lean color and discoloration of steaks. For all cuts, the APC of SF60 steaks on days 0, 2, and 4 of retail display were lower (P < 0.05) than those of SF75 and SF90 samples. The WBSF values decreased (P < 0.05) with increased storage time for all the cuts. Similarly, the consumer tenderness rating scores of IR and SL generally increased with the SF storage time. However, storage time did not influence (P ≥ 0.05) the juiciness, flavor, and overall liking of any cuts. The results of this study suggest it would be feasible to extend the storage time of beef while preserving or improving the sensory quality when held at optimal conditions above the freezing temperature. The third study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different temperature and time treatment combinations (1A: 56.1°C and 71 min; 1B: 56.1°C and 150 min; 1C: 56.1°C and 240 min; 2A: 61.7°C and 8 min; 2B: 61.7°C and 150 min; 2C: 61.7°C and 240 min) of sous vide cooking on the palatability of beef biceps femoris. Beef biceps femoris were sliced into 1.6-cm steaks, vacuum packaged as 4.5 kg bags, and randomly assigned to one of the six treatments with 16 packages (n=16) per treatment. Cooked and chilled packages were weighed, and then the weight of the meat was taken to measure cooking loss. Weighed samples were divided into two halves: one was left non-marinated, and the other was assigned to marination. Two 1.6-cm non-marinated steaks were randomly selected and cut in half to measure the internal cooked color. Additionally, non-marinated and marinated steaks were randomly selected for WBSF and sensory analysis by a trained panel. Data were analyzed using a complete randomized design in R with a significance level of α=0.05. The cooking loss of samples increased as the temperature and dwell time combinations increased (P < 0.05). Internal redness of steaks decreased (P < 0.05) with increased temperature and dwell time. The only major difference in WBSF and the trained sensory panel results was between treatment 1C (56.1°C and 240 min) and 2A (61.7°C and 8 min), where 1C samples had lower WBSF values and higher perceived tenderness scores than 2A samples. These results suggest that biceps femoris samples can be cooked at conditions examined in this study with minimal impact on palatability, allowing producers more flexibility with cooking time to optimize production time and energy while reducing cooking loss. Overall, the findings of these studies should be useful to the beef industry as they consider strategies for improving the storage shelf-life and palatability of beef.
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Subject
low-temperature long-time cooking
retail display
tenderness
meat color
extended chilled storage
sensory evaluation