Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Application in ready
-
to
-
eat products
: High hydrostatic pressure has been forecasted
to be convenient for high quality with chemical free preserved meat products. This
process provides fresh products with natural fl avours and tastes as it is demanded by
consumers. HP processing results in an effective reduction of microbial counts by
keeping foods with minimal effects on nutritional and sensory characteristics. Thus,
HP processing becomes very useful as a post-packaged preservation technology for
ready-to-eat (RTE) whole or sliced meat products and seafoods. Antimicrobial attri-
bute of high pressure processing supposed to be due to combination of breakdown
of non-covalent bonds and the puncturing or permeabilisation of the cell membrane.
Vegetative cells are inactivated at about 3,000 bars at ambient temperature, while
spore inactivation requires much higher pressures (6,000 bars or more) in combina-
tion with a temperature rise to 60-70 °C. Gram negative bacteria are generally more
sensitive to pressure than Gram positive bacteria (Patterson
2005
). The inactivation
of spoilage and pathogen microorganisms by HPP has been studied in several meat
products, and depending on the type of product, different effects of pressure, tem-
perature, and holding time have been determined (Aymerich et al.
2005
,
2008
;
Chung et al.
2005
; Garriga et al.
2004
; Tanzi et al.
2004
).
High pressure processing has been applied as a preservation method to a wide
range of meat products such as cured meats, processed meats or meats for further
processing, and ready meals. Some high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treated meat
products are already sold in the marketplace: sliced ham and turkey, pork and poul-
try cuts, thick sliced ham, chicken and turkey products, whole and sliced Serrano
ham, salami, and chorizo are available in Spain; natural, minimally processed
cooked sliced meat, roasted chicken (whole birds, breasts, and drumsticks), sliced
chicken and turkey, chicken sausages, sliced turkey and strips of chicken in modi-
fi ed atmosphere packaging (MAP) and prosciutto (whole and sliced) are sold in the
United States. Nitrate-free HHP treated cooked pork products are sold in Japan;
HHP treated Parma ham (prosciutto), salami, and pancettas are sold in Italy (PFV
2009
). Applications of high pressure processing in various ready-to-eat meat and
fi sh products as well as their effects have been summarized in Table
10.4
.
It is clear from the discussed results that HP processing has the widest applica-
tion in the meat industry as compared to other minimal processing approaches.
When used at appropriate pressure level and suitable processing conditions, HPP
improves several physicochemical, functional, and sensory characteristics of the
processed meats besides reduction of pathogenic and spoilage microbial counts.
HPP also affects colour and lipid peroxidation in meat and fi sh products when
pressure level is not appropriate.
10.2.2.2
Ionizing Radiation
Radiation which has suffi cient energy to move the atoms of another molecule, but
are insuffi cient to change it chemically termed as “non-ionizing radiation”, against
the “ionizing radiation” that has enough energy to break chemical bonds. As far as
application in foods is concerned three types of ionizing radiations are being used
